Kollam added as a customs port but with a complicated notification. Remember Vizag was not notified as a port?
The Vizag Customs Commissioner was very angry with us for reporting that Vizag was not a notified port under the Customs Act! After two years of crusade by TIOL, Vizag and some other ports which were left out of the notification, obviously by oversight, were notified as ports. Apparently even now there are some mistakes – and CBEC does not like to admit mistakes. And they go about correcting their mistakes as if there was no mistake in the first place.
Look at the latest notifications. As per Notification No. 62/94 Cus NT, the following are the notified ports in Kerala.
(1) Allepey
(2) Azhikkal
(3) Kozhikode (at Beypore)-Kozhikode District.
(4) Cochin
(5) Omitted.
(6) Neen-dakara
(7) Tellichery
(8) Vazhin-jam
Now this notification is amended to make the list as
(1) Allepey
(2) Azhikkal
(3) Kozhikode
(4) Cochin
(5) Neendakara
(6) Tellichery
(7) Vazhinjam
(8) Kollam
You can easily find that what they have done is add Kollam to the list of ports: Anyway Sl. No.5 is blank – they could have easily put Kollam in Sl. No. 5.
But do you know why Sl. No 5 is blank? This was originally Minicoy Island and this Minicoy Island was shown in the State of Kerala and it was only in 2006 that the Board realised that Minicoy Island is in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep and not in the State of Kerala. This island was with Lakshadweep since 1956 when it was called the Territory of Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi islands.
Of course Revenue officers are not expected to have a command over Geography, but when their jurisdiction is geographic, they should pick up a little geography!
NOTIFICATION NO. Dated 27th June, 2007.