Expeditious disposal of unclaimed / uncleared goods – Board reiterates instructions
IT has come to the notice of the Board that its instructions are not being followed strictly by the Customs field formations and large quantities of goods including hazardous goods are still pending disposal at various Customs Stations. In this regard, whereas primary responsibility of disposal of unclaimed / uncleared goods rests with custodian appointed under the provisions of Section 45 of the Customs Act, 1962 read with Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009, substantial revenue gets blocked if disposal does not take place in time. Also, such uncleared / unclaimed goods pose a serious safety and security threat, at times and may lead to untoward incidents such as the recent incident of leakage of Chlorine gas at Mumbai port.
Board has taken a serious note of this situation.
(How many times the poor Board takes note of the flagrant disobedience of its lofty instructions by the most humble servants in the field?)
Board wants urgent action and a report by 10.1.2011 – by that time everyone will forget about this and life will continue merrily.
Recently the Times Of India reported that in a corner of the ground floor of CGO complex is kept around 25 drums of the hazardous chemical `Bromochloromethane' which is a banned fire-extinguishing compound in India. The drums, which are in a dilapidated condition, were seized years ago by the intelligence unit of Central Board of Excise and Customs in Navi Mumbai. However, nothing has been done so far to dispose of these harmful chemicals that continue to remain there. The said chemical in the drums can cause nausea, irritation in the eyes and serious skin problems if exposed to humans. It is also said to affect sensitive ozone layer in the stratosphere.
To start with, can they remove those 25 drums?
CBEC Instruction F. No.450/97/2010-Cus.IV, Dated: July 22, 2010