About Trade Bridge Advisors
Customs, GST, DGFT, SEZ and GIFT City advice from the people who once administered these laws. Retired Indian Revenue Service officers lead every mandate. A young execution team runs it at start-up pace.
Our people
Founder & Principal Advisor
Over thirty years in the Indian Revenue Service across Customs and indirect tax administration: valuations, classification, exemptions and enforcement, seen from the regulator's chair. Five more years shaping SEZ, EOU, STPI and FTWZ policy at the Ministry of Commerce under the Ease of Doing Business agenda. He now puts that insider understanding to work for the businesses the system regulates.
Associate Partner
Subhash C. Varshney retired as Principal Chief Commissioner, CGST Mumbai, capping a 35-year career in the Indian Revenue Service across Customs, Central Excise, Service Tax and GST. As Deputy Director, DRI Gujarat and Assistant Director, DRI Mumbai, he investigated a large number of smuggling cases and violations under the Customs Act, 1962; he later held key charges in DGGI Calcutta and New Delhi, leading intelligence and investigations into Central Excise duty evasion with ramifications across the country. He served as First Secretary (Trade), High Commission of India, London, driving India–UK trade facilitation and cross-border regulatory engagement. As Additional Director General (Training), he conducted international conferences under the World Customs Organization, earning a WCO Certificate of Appreciation. He led the transition to GST across Mumbai Zone, India's largest CGST zone. He now serves as Independent Director on a few company boards, having earlier advised the Chancellor of NMIMS and YES Bank.
Associate
Shri Ajit Nair retired as Assistant Commissioner of Customs, CBIC Mumbai, after a 37-year career (1987–2024) spanning administrative leadership, enforcement and government liaison. He actively coordinated between Customs, port authorities, airlines and trade bodies for smooth flow of import-export operations. He also possessed good experience in the preventive and intelligence work.
Partner
Graduate in Logistics & Supply Chain Management, currently pursuing Law. Drives client delivery, operations and technology, balancing the firm's veteran depth with youthful pace and enthusiasm.
Who we are
Trade Bridge Advisors was founded in Mumbai in October 2025 and is led by retired Indian Revenue Service officers who spent 30 to 40 years inside Customs, GST and the Ministry of Commerce. Today that experience works for business, alongside a young team fluent in logistics, supply chains and technology.
Bridging Policy and Business
Customs · GST
duty, classification, disputes
SEZ · DGFT
zones, units, trade schemes
GIFT City · FEMA
IFSC and cross-border money
Year one
Corporate Profile 2026 · since October 2025
75+
Clients served
Importers, exporters, developers, shipping lines, financial institutions
₹1,000+ Cr
Trade facilitated
Through customs and policy hurdles
₹100+ Cr
Litigation handled
Up to Tribunal (CESTAT) and High Court
25+
Approvals secured
SEZ, IFSC, DGFT licences and MOOWR
20+
Retainer clients
Stayed on after their first engagement
What we stand for
Our leaders spent 30 to 40 years administering Customs and GST. They know how the department builds a case, and how to take one apart.
We engineer the operational route: the licence, the approval, the release order. Not a memo that ends at diagnosis.
A senior voice for trade associations and industrial groups before the Ministries of Commerce and Finance.
Veteran advisors lead every mandate. A young team executes it at start-up speed.
“Regulatory challenges should never slow down corporate vision.”
Practice areas
How we work
Set up right, operated clean, and defended by the same senior team throughout.
UNIT · SCHEME · DUTY POSITIONS
Before the transaction
You are setting up a unit, choosing a scheme, or opening a new trade line.
Entity, scheme and duty positions settled before the first shipment, so there is nothing for a dispute to start from.
WITH YOU FROM DAY ONE
LICENCES · BONDS · RENEWALS
During operations
Your units and shipments are running and the licences have to stay good.
Licences, bonds and compliance calendars kept current, so a benefit never comes back as a demand.
WITH YOU AS YOU GROW
NOTICES · APPEALS · HEARINGS
When challenged
A notice, audit or seizure has landed.
Notices, appeals and hearings argued by people who once sat on the deciding side of the desk.
WITH YOU IN THE HEARING
Join at any stage: setting up, already operating, or holding a notice. It begins with one conversation.
Book a consultationOne conversation usually surfaces at least one benefit, exposure or approval you haven't yet considered.
204, Ruparel IRIS, Senapati Bapat Marg, Matunga West, Mumbai 400 016 · info@tradebridgeadvisors.com
