JM Kishore - Indian Customs Officer wins WCO prize
On January 26th 2005, while most of the officers were busy in discussing this year’s Presidential Award winners, yet another list of prize winners was announced - not by the Indian Government, but by the World Customs Organization. Recently WCO conducted an online competition on the occasion of the release of its new e-learning course. The participants had to answer the questions on HS and classification of goods. The results were declared on 26th January, International Customs Day. Mr JM Kishore an Appraiser in Vizag Customs House secured sixth place in this International event. In the top ten, Mr Kishore was the sole representative of Indian Customs, while Mr Nasruddin Djoko Surjono of Indonesian Customs obtained the second prize. There are many talented officers like Mr Kishore in Indian Customs and Excise department, but their efforts are best recognised outside than within the Department.
Customs officers and others from all over the world participated in this exciting competition and it is really a matter of pride that Mr Kishore is the only Indian Customs officer who made it to the top ten. Kishore though hardly known outside his Vizag Customs is a brilliant officer whose command over classification is now confirmed by the WCO in this competition. He got 90% marks in the test on customs classification. When DDT contacted him, in all humility, he said, “Though the questions are apparently not so difficult, it required reference of HSN Explanatory notes, classification rulings, classification opinions, section and sub-section notes etc. The existing tariff with us is based on 2002. After 2002, several clarifications, rulings have been provided by WCO and I had to use that data also. I did enjoy the participation indeed”. While he did not take any credit for himself, he wanted to add, “I wish that this small achievement signals that even small Custom Houses like Visakhapatnam also possesses quality in assessment/classification and the general idea of the assessment/classification done by major custom houses would be right and to be followed has no logic”
Obviously we have a classification expert languishing in a small Custom House like Vizag and we are generally not ready to recognize our own talent until some foreign body does the job. Now that he has won the WCO prize, the Indian Customs should recognize him with some rare honour. Give him a promotion – at least a few increments. The least the department can do is to invite him to all those tariff conferences.
Kishore is also a good writer of incisive articles and had several articles published on this site. DDT congratulates him on this great feat and wishes him all the best.
Some of the questions he had to answer in this test are given below – if you have any doubts, please let us know. We will ask Kishore, our internationally acclaimed tariff expert.
1. A canned, cooked food preparation, consisting (by weight) of Spaghetti (60%), Beef meat balls (25%) and tomato sauce (15%) is classified in which of the sub headings?
a) 1602.50
b) 1902.30
c) 2106.90
2. Classify smoked Pacific Salmon in an air tight plastic bag. The salmon has not been soaked in brine prior to smoking, but it has been fully cooked during the coarse of smoking process.
a) 0305.59
b) 1604.11
c) 0305.41
3. Classify a single Hull boat with an out board motor for sport fishing on rivers, room for 3 or 4 persons, made of polyethylene colored green in mass, 2.80 meters long weighing 50 Kg.
a) 8906.90
b) 8902.00
c) 8903.99
4. Classify a wet and dry vacuum cleaner, with the following characteristics. 1200 Watt motor, 18-litre container capacity, Weight 5.6 kg,4.5 m Cord, Standard accessories supplied with the machine; Suction Hose (1.7m),2 X 0.5 m section tubes, device tool wet and dry floor tool, paper filter bag cartridge filter bag.
a) 8414.10
b) 8479.89
c) 8509.10
5. How would you classify a set of garments, all made of a similar Woven fabric of cotton, put up in a plastic pack for retail sale and comprising of :a shirt,a waist coat and shorts of a blue Woven fabric ;trousers of red Woven fabric ?
a) 6203.22
b) 6203.32
c) 6203.42
6. Which of the following HS Codes is applicable to printed machine woven fabric, plain weave, made of 75 % cotton and 25% man-made staple fibre, weighing 150 g/m2?
a) 5208.22
b) 5210.11
c) 5210.51