'97.76% passengers have opted for green channel'

The officers and staff of the Customs Commissionerate, Mangaluru, observed the International Customs Day on Saturday along with other stakeholders.

Importers, exporters, customs brokers, special public prosecutor, airlines and officers from Central Excise and Central Tax, Income Tax and state government officials are included in the list of such stakeholders.

The theme is "A Secure Business Environment for Economic Development."

Speaking on the occasion, Commissioner Dr M Subramanyam said that, in line with the theme of the World Customs Organization to create a business environment more stable and predictable by streamlining procedures, tackling corruption, enhancing integrity and facilitating the movement of goods, conveyances and people in general, the Commissionerate has prioritised the task of popularising Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) among all the stakeholders so as to reap benefits of facilitated clearances and incentives provided for such entities.

Highlighting the interdependence of trade and security in the current global scenario, the commissioner informed that there are 14 AEOs operating in the Customs House.

Cargo release time

Speaking about reduced cargo release time, he informed that the dwell time taken for Customs last month was 0.54 days (a little more than 12 hours) for imports and 0.65 days (little more than 15 hours) for exports. "In terms of the action plan, the overall release time is 3 days for sea cargo and 2 days for air cargo in respect of imports and 2 days for sea cargo and the same day for air cargo in respect of exports," he listed out.

Detailing the facilitation at Mangaluru, it was informed that 93% of export consignments and 64% of import consignments were facilitated, without any examination and assessment. The import facilitation could be 20% more had the procedural issues of bond clearance been addressed, since bulk cargo is the major portion of import cargo at the Mangalore Port, said the commissioner.

The Mangaluru Customs was the first in implementing e-sealing procedure in the country, Subramanyam said.

On passenger facilitation, the commissioner said that over 97.76% passengers have opted for green channel and the Department is increasingly adopting non-intrusive techniques to further improve facilitation using the available data and passenger profiling techniques. "The Commissionerate has been taking several proactive measures in respect of departmental lands across the coast and getting them fenced for proper protection and upkeep. In this regard, the Old Port at Bunder will be spruced up soon," he assured.

Subramanyam said, "So far, 57 cases involving Rs 5.41 cr. have been detected, of which 62% were gold seizures involving several modus operandi. In the last couple of years, Special Intelligence and Investigation Branch officers have detected cases involving revenue over Rs 5 crore. The sections hitherto not yielding much result have started showing success due to the revamping of systems and a thorough analysis as in the case of Post Clearance Audit (PCA) detecting evasion of over Rs 2 crore this month. The disposal of seized contraband yielded revenue of Rs 5.16 crore this year and arrears to the tune of Rs 12 crore were realised this year."

The Commissionerate has realised revenue of Rs 2,022 crore till the first fortnight of January as against the target of Rs 2,300 crores for this financial year. The Chemical Laboratory is being upgraded and once it is upgraded, efforts will be initiated to get it certified by the relevant accredited agency, Subramanyam added.

Awards given

NMPT chairperson Suresh P Shirwadkar and NITK director Prof K Umamaheshwar Rao also spoke.

Adani Wilmar Pvt Ltd was conferred the award for top revenue contributor; Indian Oil Corporation was awarded for substantial growth in revenue contribution; Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd was awarded for the highest export performance, KIOCL was awarded for substantial growth in exports; Cargolinks as the customs broker was awarded for handling highest customs documents and Atlantic Shipping Pvt Ltd as the steamer agent was awarded for handling highest number of vessels.

UPCL, Yashaswi Fish Meal & Oil Co, and Delta Infralogistics (Worldwide) were also awarded for their contribution towards a secure business environment.

The recipient of the President's Certificate of Appreciation for outstanding service, Allen Rajesh Vas, Senior Intelligence Officer (DG GSTI), was felicitated on the occasion. The Commendation Certificates were also distributed to the outstanding officers at various levels for their contribution to respective areas of the Commissionerate.