Crew Members barred from purchasing indigenous goods at DFS while travelling abroad
WE received this interesting mail -
"Apart from the ambience, bars, electronic shops and the well maintained toilets, International Airports in our country have added attraction in the form of duty free shops (DFS).
The Central Government issued a press release on the 23 rd May, 2013 informing that the Government has held discussions with the different stake-holders and decided to permit excise duty-free sale of indigenous goods to passengers or members of crew arriving from abroad within the overall permissible baggage allowance under the Baggage Rules, 1998 and to permit excise duty-free sale of indigenous goods to passengers going abroad."
To give effect to this BRAND India overdrive, the government issued five notifications on the Central Excise side and a Board Circular.
The notification which I would like to refer to is 7/2013-CE(NT) and the operative portion reads -
"…the Central Government hereby extends the facility of removal of all excisable goods … from the factory of production, intended for storage in a godown or retail outlet of a Duty Free Shop in the Departure Hall or the Arrival Hall, as the case may be, of International Airport,... and for sale there from, against foreign exchange to passengers going out of India or to the passengers or members of crew arriving from abroad , subject to limitations, conditions and safeguards as may be specified by the Central Board of Excise and Customs in terms of sub-rule (2) of rule 20 of Central Excise Rules, 2002."
One may notice that whereas the benefit of purchasing these indigenous goods from these duty free shops against foreign exchange is available to the passengers or members of crew arriving from abroad and to the passengers going out of India the same is not available for the members of crew who are going out of India.
What is the rationale for prohibiting the "crew members" from purchasing these indigenous goods duty free while going abroad is not understandable. Obviously, a crew member arriving from abroad would be purchasing these ‘indigenous goods' for self-consumption or otherwise just like the passenger who arrives from abroad. And if this be so, should not a similar opportunity be allowed to them when they travel abroad. Of course, even if they purchase these goods duty free and dispose them in the foreign country, it would still amount to promoting Brand India, in any which way it is understood!
And will this anomaly be borne in mind by the staff at the DFS at the International Airports while selling his wares. In case, it is not scrupulously followed will the manufacturer of the indigenous goods be penalised and duty be collected from him? has already commented that the procedure prescribed in the Board Circular 970 is a cumbersome one and not many manufacturers would be keen to follow.