Corruption in India’s logistics industry remains one of the most persistent hurdles to trade competitiveness and efficiency. Across ports, highways, and air cargo terminals, unscrupulous practices continue to inflate costs, cause delays, and erode international confidence in India’s supply chain reliability. This special feature explores how corruption manifests across different modes of transport, the hidden economic burden it creates, and the systemic weaknesses that allow it to persist. Drawing on expert insights, industry data, and recent cases, it also examines the path forward, from digitalisation and policy reform to fostering a culture of transparency and accountability.
Every hour that a ship waits at port, every truck held at a checkpoint, and every consignment delayed in clearance adds up to a cost that never appears on an invoice — the cost of corruption. It’s the invisible toll that quietly erodes India’s trade efficiency, inflates logistics expenses, and undermines global trust in “Brand India.”
Earlier this month, allegations of bribery and harassment against Chennai Customs reignited an uncomfortable yet essential debate — corruption in logistics. The incident, though under investigation, reflects a deeper malaise that has long existed beneath the surface of India’s rapidly modernising supply chain network.
For me, as a journalist, the incident provided an opportunity to delve deeper into how corruption manifests across various segments of logistics, from road transport and maritime trade to air cargo operations, and to understand its far reaching implications on efficiency, cost, and credibility.
Corruption in logistics isn’t a single-point issue. It manifests across modes of transport and nodes of control.
At ports, Soumya Prakash Dalua, Lead – India, Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN), highlights that “corrupt practices are often observed at entry points, particularly in seaports, beginning with the process of granting inward pratique to vessels. The law empowers the Customs Department to board ships and conduct inspections; however, some errant officers exploit this authority for personal gain.”
On highways, Abhishek Gupta, General Secretary, All India Transporters Welfare Association (AITWA), calls it a regular phenomenon. He says “Bribes are a right of every officer be it, traffic police or RTO, when they see a big vehicle – it is a cash cow.”
He adds, that it doesn’t stop at that, they also threaten the driver to issue a challan for frivolous reasons. “The idea is to extort,” he emphasises.
At airports where consignments become caught in procedural limbo. The common thread, however, remains the same: each instance adds time, uncertainty, and cost.
While India has made commendable progress in improving its Ease of Doing Business rankings and modernising its customs and port operations, challenges persist at the ground level. To put this into perspective, India’s position in the global business bribery risk worsened slightly from 77th in 2020 to 82nd in 2021. Its score dropped marginally from 45 to 44, according to the TRACE Bribery Risk Matrix, which measures business bribery risk across 194 countries based on factors such as government interaction, anti bribery enforcement, transparency, and civil society oversight, including media freedom.
Where it hurts Most: Time & Cost
While corruption in logistics rarely makes the headlines, yet its consequences ripple silently through every layer of the supply chain. Industry insiders points out that each entry point whether a seaport or borders often become the most vulnerable choke point, and leads to delay and an increase in total transport and logistics expenses.
Soumya Prakash Dalua explains, that such places “lead to frequent delays in the clearance process, with crew members often pressured to make payments to expedite release. Each hour of delay adds to the vessel’s commercial costs, significantly impacting overall operations.”
He adds, “This diminishes India’s competitiveness in the global market and significantly hampers the ease of doing business, particularly for small and medium enterprises.”
Further sharing the on ground feedback Soumya Prakash Dalua explains how bribes are diminishing India’s Competitiveness. He shares that “feedback from seafarers regarding their port experiences has not been very encouraging. They have identified certain agencies as being responsible for creating unnecessary difficulties during their time at the ports. Since ports serve as India’s critical interface with the global trade and business community, such negative feedback can adversely affect the perception of ‘Brand India’ and its reputation as a reliable trading partner.”
The numbers reflect the gravity. A 2024 study indicated that maritime corruption increases transport and logistics costs by around 15%, resulting in an annual cost of over USD 162 million for the industry — substantially reducing GDP and job opportunities.
But the sea is just one face of the problem. On the highways, too, corruption extracts a steep toll.
This is an abridged version of the story published in the November edition of the Logistics Insider Magazine. To read the complete story, click here.
