High Level 'Customs Clearance Facilitation Committee' (CCFC) becomes Low Level
CBEC in Circular No. 13/2015, dated 13.04.2015, mentioned:
The Government has in recent times taken a number of measures to create an environment for ease of doing business and trade facilitation. The measures include the simplification of Customs procedures, reduction of documents, message exchange between Government agencies engaged in Customs clearance, and use of digital signature for electronic submission of Customs process documents. Continuing in this direction, it has now been decided with the approval of the Cabinet Secretary to establish a high-level administrative body at each seaport and airport with the responsibility of ensuring expeditious Customs clearance of imported and export goods.
Accordingly, the Board has decided to set up a Customs Clearance Facilitation Committee (CCFC) at every major Customs seaport and airport with immediate effect. The Chief Commissioner of Customs/Commissioner of Customs in charge of the seaport and airport concerned would head the CCFC. Its membership would include the senior-most functionary of the following departments/agencies/stakeholder at the particular seaport/airport:
(i) Food Safety Standards Authority of India/Port Health Officer (PHO)
(ii) Plant Quarantine Authorities
(iii) Animal Quarantine Authorities
(iv) Drug Controller of India (CDSO)
(v) Textile Committee
(vi) Port Trust/Airport Authority of India/Custodians
(vii) Wild Life Authorities
(viii) Railways/CONCOR
(ix) Pollution Control Board
(x) Any other Department/Agency/stakeholder to be co-opted on need basis.
The Committee is to meet once a week or more frequently.
This weekly meeting was a tall call and Chief Commissioners simply ignored the Board instructions. Now the meetings are not held even once in a month. The senior-most functionaries of the various departments are supposed to be Members of the Committee. Already senior functionaries have lost interest and junior functionaries are now attending these meetings.
The last meeting of the Mumbai -I and II zones was jointly held on 10.07.2015 under the Chairmanship of Mr. AK Kaushal Member (Customs), CBEC & Chief Commissioner, Zone-I and III.
The representatives of various departments who attended the meeting were:
1. MIAL - Vice President, Cargo
2. Textile Committee - Authorized Officer
3. Mumbai Port Trust - Deputy Traffic manager
4. FSSAI - Authorized Officer
5. Plant Quarantine - Deputy Director
6. Pollution Control Board - Authorized Officer
7. Indian Railways - Authorized Officer
8. CONCOR - Sr. Manager
9. Drug Controller - Assistant Drug Controller.
The minutes of the meeting records that the other points were not taken up because, as required, there has been total disregard of the mandate of this forum as to the level of participants.
Similar was the situation in the meeting held in JN Customs on 09.07.2015.
While reporting the creation of CCFC in DDT 2581- 21 04 2015, I asked,
Is it feasible for such a high power committee to meet once a week? Can you expect the Chairman of a Port Trust to come to the Custom House every week to attend a meeting chaired by the Customs Commissioner?