It’s UV resin 1 & 2 , not UV resin 142 – ‘cut and paste’ is better than typing
UV resin also known as Ultra Violet Curable resin mostly used as a fast binding medium, traditionally used to bind glass, rocks etc,. The advantage of the product is that it cures within seconds. In the modern times it has a predominant use in optical fibre. UV-curable resins are used as the coating material for optical fibres, and their physical properties change with the degree of curing, thereby influencing the transmission characteristics of the fibre.
Optical fibres are crucial in the field of telecommunications, offering the advantages of low loss broad bandwidth, fine diameter, light weight, freedom from electromagnetic induction, freedom from crosstalk, and efficiency in resource consumption in comparison to the copper conductors used in conventional telecommunications cables. However, they are at a disadvantage in terms of their low mechanical strength, which makes them brittle. From the processes of fibre drawing, coating and cabling to the laying of the cables, they are subjected to tensile force, and subsequently, under a variety of environments, they must have superior static and dynamic fatigue characteristics. For this reason optical fibres, immediately after drawing, are covered by a coating of resin to improve their mechanical strength.
What has all this got to do with DDT? For once this is not going to be irrelevant; irreverent? May be, YES.
A customs officer’s job may it be at the field or the Board is certainly not an easy one.
UV resins used for the manufacture of telecommunication grade optical fibres or optical fibre cables attract a concessional rate of customs duty. This exemption was given as long ago as in 1989 when UV Resin-1/UV Resin-2 was given a concessional rate of 50%. This exemption continued till the latest Notification No. 21/2002. But the much amended notification caused a little havoc. When it was amended by Notification No. 66/2004 dated 9.7.2004, the UV Resin-1/UV Resin-2 became UV resin-142. Probably some bright officer did not allow the import of UV Resin-1 as the exemption was for UV resin-142, a product unknown in the market. And may be, metres and metres of optical fibre cried for want of a UV coating which was comfortably lying in some port for customs clearance.
The Government has realized the mistake and corrected it. Now it is to be read as UV resin 1 & 2.
This time around, the Board typist did not go for a cut and paste operation and instead typed it out and that obviously caused the mistake. It is really difficult, especially when there is nobody to check and re check, these things do happen. Instead of having so many commissioners and Chief Commissioners, Board should seriously consider having some more typists and data entry operators. Each under secretary in the Board should be given at least one stenographer and two typists and two research assistants – after all they make the laws. (the under secretaries, not the stenographers, of course)
The commendable feature is that even such small mistakes are spotted and corrected, without retrospectively ratifying the mistake. This is a great step in the right direction.
NOTIFICATION NO. , Dated : June 15, 2006