Smuggling in Visakhapatnam goes unchecked with the approval of the Government for more than a decade
As per Section 7 of the Customs Act, the Board can appoint ports and airports which alone shall be ports for import and export. Now Board has appointed Dahanu port in Maharashtra for Unloading of imported Coal by Reliance Energy Ltd and Tirupathi airport for Loading of perishable fruits and vegetables.
But in the callous way that notifications are prepared, a very important lapse has gone undetected and in spite of DDT mentioning it several times, Board has not bothered to rectify the lapse. As per Sl. No 2(4) of Notification No. 62/94-Cus NT, Visakhapatnam is a port for Loading of export goods. Imports through Vizag port are illegal as Vizag is not declared as a port for import. There is a Chief Commissioner sitting in Vizag assisted by a Commissioner in collecting Crores of Revenue on import duty when import itself through the port is illegal. Whenever the goods are unloaded from a vessel in Vizag port, the goods should be seized as Vizag is not a port for unloading of imported goods. As per Section 111(a) of the Customs Act, any goods imported by sea or air which are unloaded or attempted to be unloaded at any place other than a customs port or customs airport appointed under clause (a) of section 7 for the unloading of such good are liable for confiscation. As mentioned earlier Vizag is a port only for loading of export goods and not for unloading of imported goods. And so all the goods unloaded at Vizag port are liable for confiscation.
As per Section 2(39) of the Customs Act “smuggling”, is defined as any act or omission which will render (such) goods liable to confiscation under section 111 or section 113;
So the goods unloaded at Vizag port are smuggled goods and there is a whole Custom House there abetting this smuggling, which is going unabated for more than a decade. As per Section 112, any person who abets any act which makes the goods liable for confiscation is also liable to a penalty. So every officer of Vizag Customs who allows clearance of this illegally unloaded cargo in Vizag is liable for this penalty!
NOTIFICATION NO.90 and , Dated: October 4, 2005