This course covers the Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations 2009 (HCCAR 2009), framed under Section 157 of the Customs Act 1962, which govern the persons and entities authorised to handle cargo within customs areas — ports, airports, inland container depots (ICDs), container freight stations (CFSs), and air freight stations (AFSs). A Customs Cargo Service Provider (CCSP) is the entity appointed to act as custodian of imported and export goods within a customs area, responsible for the safe receipt, storage, delivery, and accounting of cargo under customs supervision. HCCAR 2009 is the regulatory framework that defines who may perform this function, under what conditions, and with what consequences for non-compliance.

The course opens with the legal basis of HCCAR 2009 under Section 157 of the Customs Act and the definition of "Customs Cargo Service Provider" under Regulation 2 — covering port trusts, airport authorities, private terminal operators, CFSs, ICDs, and AFSs — explaining which entities are automatically designated as CCSPs by virtue of their statutory status and which require a specific licence under HCCAR 2009. The distinction between statutory custodians (such as major port trusts and the Airports Authority of India) and privately licensed CCSPs is a CBLE-tested structural distinction since the licensing procedure and obligations differ between them.