International Customs Day Celebrated

By Vijay Kumar

26TH January being Republic day, Indian Customs celebrates International Customs Day on 27th January. This year, Cochin Customs celebrated it in a grand way. The function was graced by the presence of Shri. Justice (Retd) P. Sathasivam, Hon'ble Governor of Kerala, as Chief Guest and was presided over by Shri M. Vinod Kumar, Chief Commissioner of Customs, Kerala.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Guest and other dignitaries highlighted the leveraging of Information Technology for improving Customs Administration and to provide bouquet of services to the international trade and to ensure secured economic frontier by using updated technologies. The Chief Guest Hon. Governor, requested the trade as well as the stakeholders to adhere strictly to the statutory provisions, rules and instructions to avoid litigations and ensure the revenue due to the Government which is crucial for welfare activities and to safeguard the economy of the nation. Awards & Appreciation Certificates were presented to the top three Exporters & Importers, Top three Steamer Agents & Custom Brokers and to the Top three Airlines.

NACEN, Hyderabad also celebrated International Customs day on 27th January. The Press Release says -

Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has conducted a System Managers' Awareness, Review & Training (SMART) Workshop at National Academy of Customs, Excise & Narcotics (NACEN), Regional Training Institute (RTI), Hyderabad on 18th December 2015. The workshop is aimed to mitigate the problems faced by the Systems Managers in implementation of ICES.This Workshop was organised in collaboration with NACEN, RTI Hyderabad and inaugurated by Director General of Systems and Data Management Shri Jayant Misra. Indian Customs EDI System (ICES), which receives and processes Import and Export documents online is part of Government's e-governance vision and plays an important role in trade facilitation. Presently, about 98% of India's International trade is done through Indian Customs EDI System (ICES), which is available 24X7 at 130 locations.