ICE

QUARTERLY
July, 2012

Journal of the Indian Customs & Central Excise

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Sitting:- Ms. J.M.K. Shanti Sundharam, Ms. Sreela Ghosh, Ms. Praveen Mahajan, Sh. R.S. Gujral, Sh. Pranab Mukherjee, Sh. S.S. Palanimanickam, Sh. S.K. Goel, Ms. Sheila Sangwan, Sh. M.S. Badhan Standing Ist Row L to R: Sh. Arun Kumar Misra, Sh. Vineet Kumar, Ms. Shobha L., Chary, Sh. D.D. Ingty, Sh. Ajit Kumar, Sh. Vineet Ohri, Sh. R.S. Sidhu, Ms. Sandhya Baliga, Sh. J.P. Gregory, Sh. M. Suresh Standing 2nd Row L to R: Ms. Rasheda Hussain, Ms. Mala Srivastava, Sh. K.K. Jha, Sh. Arun Sahu, Sh. P.S. Pruthi, Ms. Ruchira Pant, Sh. Kaushal Srivastava, Sh. Deepak Kumar, Sh. S.K.S. Somavanshi, Ms. Joy Kumari Chander Standing 3rd Row L to R: Sh. Hans Kumar Jain, Sh. Shashi Bhushan Singh, Sh. Karan K. Sharma, Sh. J. Chaturvedi, Sh. Pushap Kumar Jain, Sh. B.K. Singh, Sh. Deepa B. Gupta, Ms. Sanghamitra Panda, Sh. Najib Shah, Sh. Chitran Dube Standing 4th Row L to R: Sh. B.S. VAsudev, Sh. S.S. Rana, Ms. M.I.J. Michael, Sh. Ashok K. Kaushal, Ms. Arusha Vasudev, Sh. K.K. Goyal, Sh. Ajesh Kumar, Sh. C.S. Prasad, Sh. M.D. Singh, Ms. Jagjit Pavadia.

Dear Readers, This year we are celebrating the golden jubilee of the Customs Act, 1962. The celebrations began with the release of the signature tune of Indian Customs by the Honble Finance Minister on 11th January. It was followed by the presentation of Customs Tableau at Republic Day parade on 26th January (which also happens to be the International Customs Day) at Rajpath, New Delhi, release of a specially commissioned calendar on paintings of old custom houses on 2nd Feburary also by the Honble Finance Minister , release of postage stamp and a coffee table book on 26th July by the Honble Minister of Communication and Information Technology. All these events have been well received by the media and have instilled a sense of pride and purpose among officers of the department. Continuing the celebrations, we present before you the special issue of ICE Quarterly on the 50 years of the Customs Act, 1962. In overwhelming response to the letter issued by the Chairman CBEC regarding publication of a coffee table book on Indian Customs, we received lot of articles, memoirs and anecdotes, particularly from the retired officers. Given the format of the coffee table book all the material could not be accommodated in it, even though it had interesting information and nostalgic anecdotes. Hence, we collected all these contributions in the current issue of ICE Quarterly. This would take you on a nostalgic trip down the memory lane, and offer you a glimpse of the customs administration from earliest to present times. Hope you will enjoy reading it. I take this opportunity to welcome the first lady Chairperson of CBEC, Ms. Praveen Mahajan, and new members of the Board Ms. Sandhya Baliga and Ms. Shobha L. Chary and wish them success in their new assignments.

Vinod Goel
Commissioner Editor-in-chief
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ContentS
Speech of Shri Kapil Sibal on Release of Postage Stamp to Commemorate celebrate 50 Years of Customs Act, 1962 Customs and the Empire G.S. Sawhney Border Patrols Tarun Roy My Associations with Finance Ministers V. Sridhar My Contempt Suit & Other Stories Sukumar Mukhopadhyay Memoirs Sukumar Sankar, Ila Chatterjee, M.M. Bhatnagar, P.K. Singh Indian Customs Through the Ages K. Sankararaman My Experience in Air Customs S. Venkatarama Iyer Some Anecdotes in My Career Still Fresh in My Mind R. Jayaraman 1965 Indo-Pak War and Indian Customs N.K. Bajpai From Liz Taylor to Captain Taylor T. V. Sairam The Great Customs Hedge of India A. S. Sidhu
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When I faced British Bullets and went to a jail Daya Sagar Siezure of Silver-Daman/Marwad Coast-1982 T.H.K. Ghauri History of Indian Customs and Central Excise Service Alok Jha Customs Departments of the King of Karauli Sunil Kumar Introduction of Green Channel by Customs Bombay International Airport M.S. Kanwal Functioning of the Indian Customs depiction in Warli Style of Painting. Chittari Vijay Varma On Turning Fifty (An ODE TO myself) Dr. Kavita Bhatnagar Role of Customs in International Relations Parthasarathi Shome Indian Cinemas portrayal of Customs officers Amitabh Parashar Departmental News

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Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor : Vinod Goel : Alok Jha : Rajesh Kumar : Pawan Misra

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Website : www.dppr.gov.in
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Ms Praveen Mahajan becomes Chairperson, CBEC Ms. Praveen Mahajan a 1976 batch IRS (Customs & Excise) officer assumed as the Chairperson, CBEC, on 1st August 2012. She is the first lady officer to head the CBEC. Prior to her appointment as the Chairperson, she has been working as Member (P&V) in CBEC. As Member (P&V), she immensely improvised human resource planning, work culture and integrity management of the department through various administrative and managerial tools and initiated various measures to leverage the potential of the department to its optimum. Her ability to architect and drive change has lead to successful completion of various initiatives in the department. During her career spanning over 36 years, she has held many important assignments within and outside the department including Commissioner, Customs & Central Excise, Jaipur & Bhopal, Additional Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), New Delhi, Director General (Export Promotion), Director General Central Excise Intelligence and Director Cabinet Secretariat. She has also worked in Customs Cooperation Council at Brussels. She has an excellent track record throughout her service. During her stint as ADG DRI, DRIs performance was exemplary. She is known for her dynamic leadership, visionary approach, strategic planning, complex problem resolution and general management expertise. She brings in a wide knowledge domain alongwith new vigour of dynamism in indirect tax administration. With her acumen of strategic planning and tidy administration, she is expected to steer ahead the ongoing tax reforms, trade facilitation initiatives, enhanced tax payer services, automation for enhancing operational efficiency of the department and augment the functioning of intelligence and enforcement agencies, with renewed focus. Ms Mahajan is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Specially Distinguished Services. She is Masters in History and Masters in English. She also holds a Diploma in International Economic Relations at International Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), Paris. She is an avid reader of literature and has fine taste for music. She is an accomplished Rifle shooter and loves Horse riding.

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July 2012

Ms. Sandhya Baliga joins the Board Ms. Sandhya Baliga, a 1976 Batch IRS (Customs & Central Excise) officer joined CBEC as Member on 2.8.2012. At the time of appointment as Member, CBEC, she was holding the charge of Director General, HRD, Customs and Central Excise, New Delhi. A post-graduate and M.Phil in Public Administration, Ms. Baliga joined the Department on 5.11.1976. She has worked in various field formations of Central Excise and Customs Department including Commissioner (Appeals) Pune, Commissioner Customs Shillong and Chief Commissioner, Customs & Central Excise, Mysore. She also worked on deputation as Director in Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment where she was instrumental in framing the Disability Act and various schemes for street children. As CVO in HUDCO, she was instrumental in getting ISO Certificate to Vigilance Division. Her hobbies include travelling to wildlife sanctuaries, photography and painting. Her cooking skills has earned her a sobriquet of Masterchef.

Ms. Shobha L. Chary joins the Board Ms. Shobha L. Chary, a 1977 Batch IRS (Customs & Central Excise) joined CBEC as Member on 13.8.2012. At the time of appointment as Member, CBEC, she was holding the charge of Chief Commissioner, Customs, Mumbai-I. Ms. Chary joined the Department on 7.11.1977 and has served in various capacities in the field formation of Customs and Central Excise, besides being an Under Secretary in the Board. She was promoted as Commissioner in the year 2002 and was posted at Bangalore, Punchkula and Pune. She was promoted as Chief Commissioner in December 2009. Ms Chary has a vast and varied experience of working in the Department, which will immensly help her in the present assignment.

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July 2012

Speech of Shri Kapil Sibal, Hon'ble Minister for Communication and IT on Release of Postage Stamp
It gives me immense pleasure to be here today on the occasion of release of a postage stamp to commemorate the Golden Jubilee Year of the enactment of The Customs Act, 1962. I would also like to note that the celebration of the 50 Years of The Customs Act, 1962 began on 2nd February, 2012 in a grand function presided over by the then Union Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee, who is now the Honble President of India. Historically, Customs Department has a rich tradition. The concept of Customs duty dates back to 3rd Century BC in Kautilyas Arthashastra. The origin of the present Customs Act can be traced back to The Sea Customs Act 1878 and other allied enactments of the British era which were repealed after independence by consolidating them in the Customs Act 1962. At present Customs is the second largest indirect tax contributor to the exchequer. Besides revenue collection, the Customs administration also facilitates global trade and ensures compliance of various fiscal and non-fiscal laws and regulations. Over a period of time, the Customs administration has embraced technology, simplified the law and procedures and rationalized the duty structure. I am happy to note that Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) System of Customs which has been functioning at 108 locations, ensuring transparency, accountability and expeditious clearance of international goods. At this point, I would like to mention close cooperation between customs department and Department of Posts as both deal with cross border trade and other mutual areas of interest like global security issues; electronic information exchange; implementation and capacity building for the use of CN22 and CN23 forms; and consignment service in the post. India Post website gives full information about the custom related issues. Indian Customs is the member of the Policy Commission of the World Customs Organization. Indian Customs is playing a very important role in formulating the policies worldwide. In this era where we have serious concerns regarding global security, World Customs Organisation and National Customs Administrations have to coordinate with various agencies across the world. I have been told that Universal Postal Union and World Customs Organization are working together since 1965 and the two organizations have intensified cooperation through the WCO/UPU Contact Committee. To facilitate postal traffic while ensuring compliance, the UPU has been developing an electronic version of its paper-based Postal Export Guide (PEG) which will include additional functionalities. This new database (Guide) of prohibited and restricted import items by country of destination will enable postal operators and consumers to carry out searches by country, HS code and product description. In addition, it will facilitate trade by providing accurate information to postal users on regulatory matters, thereby assisting regulatory authorities to get reliable data from traders. I am happy to note that India Post is playing a pivotal role in UPU on custom related matters. Over the years, the postage stamp has assumed additional dimensions. It is not only the token of sovereignty of a nation, but has also become an instrument for celebrating national milestones in various spheres, honouring the contribution of our institutions and commemorating events of international significance. Department of Posts is happy to issue a postage stamp acknowledging the efforts of Customs Administration in nation building and in guarding our economic frontiers.
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Hon'ble Minister of Communications and Info. Tech. & HRD Shri Kapil Sibal releasing Postage Stamp to commemorate 50 years of achievements under the Customs Act, 1962. Seen alongwith are Hon'ble Minister of State (Revenue) Shri S.S. Palanimanickam; Chairman, CBEC Shri S.K. Goel, Member (P&V) Ms. Praveen Mahajan; Member CBEC Shri M.S. Badhan; Member (Post & Telegraph) Shri Kamleshwar Prasad; Member CBEC Ms. Sreela Ghosh and Member CBEC Sheila Sangwan (L-R)

Member (P&V), CBEC, Ms. Praveen Mahajan lighting the lamp to mark the release of Postage Stamp to commemorate 50 years of Customs Act, 1962. Seen alongwith are Hon'ble Minister of Communications and Info. Tech & HRD Shri Kapil Sibal; Hon'ble Minister of State (Revenue) Shri S.S. Palanimanickam; The then Chairman CBEC Shri G.K. Goel; Member CBEC Shri M.S. Badhan and Member CBEC Ms. Sreela Ghosh.

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Hon'ble Minister of Communications and Info. Tech. & HRD Shri Kapil Sibal and Hon'ble Minister of State (Revenue) Shri S.S. Palanimanickam releasing Coffee Table Book on Indian Customs. Seen alongwith are the then Chairaman, CBEC Shri S.K. Goel; Member CBEC Shri M.S. Badhan; Member (P&T) Shri Kamleshwar Prasad; Member CBEC Ms. Praveen Mahajan and Member CBEC Ms. Sreela Ghosh.

Hon'ble Minister of Communications and Info. Tech. & HRD Shri Kapil Sibal and Hon'ble Minister of State (Revenue) Shri S.S. Palanimanickam; Member CBEC Shri M.S. Badhan; Member (P&T) Shri Kamleshwar Prasad; Member CBEC Ms. Praveen Mahajan; the then Chairman CBEC Shri S.K. Goel; Member CBEC Ms. Sreela Ghosh, Member CBEC Ms. Sheila Sangwan and Ms. J.M. Shanti Sundharam.

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July 2012

Senior Officers of CBEC during the release of Postage Stamp and Coffee Table Book to Commemorate 50 years of achievements under the Customs Act, 1962.

First Day cover for the Indian Postage Stamp released to commemorate 50 years of Customs Act, 1962.

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"Anything to Declare?" is a Coffee Table Book on Indian Customs which celebrates 50 year of the Customs Act 1962. Enlivened by luculent text and interesting photographs, it commemorates the glorious past of the Departmentits journey in time, its evolution, the splendid buildings, its various functions and international role. If this book helps readers know more about the working of Indian Customs and see it in a different, friendlier light, it will have served its purpose. This Coffee Table Book is available at a special discounted price of Rs. 1450 for the serving and retired departmental officers, with the publishers: ACADEMIC FOUNDATION 4772/23, Bharat Ram Road, 23 Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi - 110 002. Ph: +91-11-23245001, 02, 03, 04
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CUSTOMS AND THE EMPIRE

G.S. Sawhney
Chairman (Retd.) CBEC

Half a millennium ago, a few foreigners asked permission from the Great Moghul emperor to set up a trading post at Surat (Gujarat).This trivial request was an insult to the Great Moghuls generosity. He, however, derisively granted it. The foreigners set about their business. They saw abundant cotton crop in the black soil of the Deccan, jute in the backwaters of Bengal, Indigo crop in Bihar (Indigo was a unique dye then before Azo dyes came in). The foreigners told the natives, We take your cotton and Indigo to Lancashire and bring back woven, dyed, mercerized cloth for you. We take your jute to Dundee and bring back sturdy packaging material for your foodgrains, fertilizers, etc. For your indigo we will set Nili Kothis all over Bihar. The surprised natives asked, What would you want in return? Nothing, they said, only keep your Customs hounds on tight leash, so that they dont tear us when we go out or come back with the baggage. The natives agreed without knowing what they were agreeing to. This uni-focused Customs arrangement brought money by the
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shovels to the foreigners (Call them East India Company). This money was used to buy, bribe, provoke intrigues and conflicts and raise private armies for the ultimate political conquest. The natives realized what had happened, but only in the mid-nineteenth century and then they violently protested. But the only beneficiary of this protest was the British Queen, who overnight became the Empress. The Empress did not forget her loyal ally, the Customs. While she ordered the civil administration to be manned by Indian Civil Service, for the Customs she chose Imperial Customs Service. This after Independence became Indian Customs Service and later lost its identity in an amalgam i.e. IRS. But what happened five thousand miles to the West! The British Treasury does not get a penny from customs duty .That duty goes to the EU. Even though Customs is irrelevant for the Treasury, it is the only tax (apart from the Royal Mail) which has a royal patronage and is called Her Majestys Customs. We are celebrating 50 years of Customs, but in the UK, Customs is perpetually in the Royal lap of the Sovereign even after its nonexistence for the British Treasury.
July 2012

Border Patrols
Tarun Roy
Chairman (Retd.), CBEC

Absolute Precision! That was the expression to describe the performance of our Jawans in trim uniform, lowering the Indian flag at sundown at the Wagah/ Attari Land Customs border with Pakistan, a few miles out of Amritsar. This was the famed Beating the Retreat, which many come to witness in awe and wonder. This evening was a little more special, for among the visitors and tourists was the Secretary (Revenue), Dr Nitish Sengupta, with his spouse. My wife was present, too. Naturally, our men put in a performance even superior to their normal effort as visits by officers of the rank of a

Secretary to Government of India beyond Chandigarh were rare in those tense times. Equally naturally, we watched with fascination the harmony in movement between the two sides, our Jawans and the Pakistani Rangers. Later, balancing out events, the Revenue Secretary remarked, I doubt if some of the movements can be found in the Drill Manual. Steps have been invented to liven up the monotony of an outstation posting. That evening we were the guests of General Chibber, the Area Commander. He

TROLLEY TO PAKISTAN
Principal Collector Tarun Roy, Collector Customs & Excise, Chandigarh, staff and guards.

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July 2012

WAGAH BORDER
Beating the Retreat

made a special request for a visit to the Army Mess in the evening as the visit by a Secretary to the Government of India would be good for his officers. We found families waiting for us. There was conviviality all around and the Army Band played its heart out. This was March 1989. In my mind, a picture formed of the first time I had been here, way back in October 1962, as a Probationer along with five colleagues. There were fewer visitors then. The movements were as precise as now, but strictly out of the Drill Manual, and as today, it made a lasting impact. xxx Is there something about Land Customs that makes a lifelong home in ones memory? There was the occasion in the summer of 1984 when a group of us officers moved to
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Gangtok from Calcutta (as it was known then) for inspection. The route to Gangtok, all the way past the Teesta river, was one of the gorgeously beautiful sights anywhere in the world. On one side the gurgling river and on the other, tall green trees in abundance on the hillsides. Some of the trees were flowering. Then, from Gangtok to Nathu La, moving higher and higher. An army detachment, led by a dashing Brigadier (later to become a Lt. General, missing the post of Army Chief by a whisker) was our host. The Army did its best to make us comfortable in the cold conditions. We found chunks of ice in little crevices though it was the month of June. We looked around at the limitless horizon and spotted the Chinese Armys post across the border. They looked at us with equal curiosity but unsmiling faces
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 till they saw the children, mine and those of our officers. The Chinese soldiers broke into delightful smiles and waved at the children. When the children waved back, the whole area seemed to be effused with an unending grin of Chinese make. xxx I seem to be remembering times involving our defence forces. Yes, I can remember a joint patrol with our Navy. I was posted in Cochin then; was it 1966? Cochin was a manand-boy customs post, with a Collector and two Assistant Collectors. The Collector, also in charge of Central Excise, was away on tour, so I was in charge. A message from Delhi (Revenue Intelligence) transmitted to me by the Commodore of the local Naval base conveyed that an Arab dhow laden with gold

bars, sailing somewhere north of Goa, was moving towards Cochin. It was going to be met at some shallow point by a small boat into which the gold would be unloaded to be taken through the creeks to a lonely delivery point. Revenue intelligence felt the operation required a Naval ship. So, in the middle of the night, I drove to the Naval base and took off on an armed patrol boat. For two nights we circled around a point off Goa. We came across more than one Arab dhow, stopped them and boarded and searched them. Alas, there was no success. The only excitement was in boarding the dhows by throwing a not too wide wooden plank from the Naval boat on to the deck of the dhow and literally walking the plank from one wobbly boat to the other wobbly one, about 20 feet above the water line. xxx

STAFF AT THE BORDER, NATHU LA PASS

A Land Customs Staff outside his tent with the Chinese/Tibetan house across the Border

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SHIP OF THE DESERT

5 am: Camel ride for Principal Collector and another

Another occasion which I can readily recall also involves the Navy. It was the seizure by a Navy patrol boat of a ship laden with a variety of contraband goods, mostly television sets, off the forlorn Barren Island of the Andamans. It was escorted to Port Blair. As Collector (Preventive) it fell upon me to take charge of the ship and its contents and in due course sail it under escort to Calcutta. The seizure made headlines at that time. xxx On and off, I had been told that at least once I must visit Sam, a desert outpost some kilometres from Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. Smuggling took place along the border with Pakistan. Contraband was carried on camel back and our officers patrolled astride the same animal. But smugglers were beginning
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to use jeeps with tyres designed to move over sand and engines equipped to deal with extreme heat or cold. I was there during December. At four in the morning I was up and escorted by the Asst. Collector and Land Customs officers to Sam. It was cold and dark, but by starlight we could make out the endless desert. We mounted camels and trekked off into this land, straight out of the early days of creation. There was a faint red colour on the horizon. I looked around at the silence and the receding darkness and the spreading red glow of the rising sun. It was beautiful, hauntingly so. But I began to realise under what trying conditions our officers were manning the borders and despite all odds were managing to make seizures and trying to stop smuggling as best they could.
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VIGILANCE ON THE VIGILANT

Assistant Collector Sudipto Nandi with Collector Customs (Preventive) Tarun Roy and others

Sunderbans: Tiger country, mangrove swamps and the home of the Ganga Sagar Mela. More importantly, its an open border with Bangladesh across the Matla River giving rise to smuggling of all kinds from fish to electronics, textiles to human beings. In the Customs launch, which had been built for Lord Willingdon, we patrolled the waters slowly till we reached Neti Dhopani, which is a Tiger Reserve. Our officers, accompanied by a Forest Ranger, went by small boats to the site of an old temple built by the then Raja Pratapaditya, ancestor of my wife. The AC discovered pug marks near a dry pond. A noise like an aeroplane revving its engines began and became gradually louder. Come up to the forest machaan, Maam, exhorted the Officer, escorting the women and children up to safety. From the window, he pointed to
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an orange rock outside the ruins of the temple on the other side of the pond, from which the noise emanated. The rock moved and all looked into the eyes of a magnificent orange and black striped head of a tiger. When he moved away, everyone ran to the boats, climbed in and roared off back to the launch. A Superintendent narrated it to me, while I sipped my tea. I told my little son, The tiger might have taken you to eat. But the tactless Superintendent said, No! Sir! Tigers prefer the one who is heavy, looking meaningfully at my rather plump wife! On the way back, our patrol was fruitful; we intercepted some fishing vessels carrying contraband. Mission was accomplished by our versatile officers even with such an antique vessel. I believe they now have new fast boats.
July 2012

My Associations with Finance Ministers

V. Sridhar
Chairman (Retd.) CBEC

On receiving a request to contribute an article to the proposed Coffee Table Book on Indian Customs through the ages, l wondered what I should write about. I have had a long innings in the Department over 37 years and 3 months. Of this, I spent a fair amount of time in the Boards office in different stints. I had the privilege of serving under several Finance Ministers, all extremely capable men. Its important to mention this in these days of constant politician bashing and running down of democratic institutions. So I thought of recalling and recounting some incidents where I learnt a lot from some of the Finance Ministers. Space constraint forces me to narrate only a few instances from my storage of memories. The year was 1986. I was posted as Deputy Secretary in the Tax Research Unit (TRU). New Excise and Customs Tariffs were introduced, based on the Harmonised System of Nomenclature. As was to be expected of any new measure, there were some teething problems. In addition, the 1985 and 1986 budgets presented by Shri V. P. Singh, Finance Minister, had also introduced many new measures and changes. The trade and industry were quite vocal in demanding changes and reliefs. Shri V. P. Singh then thought of the concept of holding Open House sessions. I used to assist the Minister
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in these sessions. The sessions were well attended and the Finance Minister used to give a very patient hearing and give quick decisions to redress the grievances that were articulated. As the sessions gained popularity, the conference room on the ground floor of North Block proved to be inadequate to accommodate increasing number of participants. So, one session was scheduled at Vigyan Bhavan. I had gone in advance to oversee the arrangements. On reaching Vigyan Bhavan, I noticed a huge crowd and overheard some argument between the persons in the crowd and the security officials. On enquiry, I was told that the conference hall, despite being big, could not accommodate all the people. As per Vigyan Bhavan rules, standees were not allowed in the conference room. The crowd was getting agitated. We officials were wondering what to do. In the meanwhile, the Finance Minister arrived. He noticed the huge crowd and asked me what the matter was. I explained the situation to him. To everyones surprise, Shri V. P. Singh just walked across the lawns of Vigyan Bhavan, sat under a tree and said that he would hold the Open House in the lawns. For good measure he quipped that open house should be held in the open. Immediately the crowd cheered him and all of them squatted on the lawns and the
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session commenced. The situation was under control in next to no time. The lesson I learnt from this incident was that political leaders do not panic at the sight of a crowd unlike bureaucrats. They quite enjoy mingling with the people and can quickly adapt to situations. It is not for nothing that they are leaders. I found Shri P. Chidambaram to be extremely sharp and with an elephantine memory. The government had issued a number of notifications granting what are referred to as Area based exemptions. These exemptions were given to boost investments in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, the North-Eastern States and Kutch in Gujarat. The exemptions had been around for quite a while but over a period of time it was noticed that there was some misuse and unintended benefits were availed by some. Therefore, some amendments were made in 2008 which whittled down the concessions. This was not appreciated by many States and several references from the Chief Ministers of the States as well as Union Ministers were received, seeking roll back of the changes and restoring status quo ante. ln the government such VIP references are replied by the Minister himself. I was at that time the Member of the Board in charge of Central Excise. One day the Minister called me and the Commissioner, Excise, in the Boards office to his chamber and discussed the issues raised in the VIP references. After discussions he called his steno and dictated a reply to a ministers reference.
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I could not but marvel at the Ministers complete mastery of the subject including minute details of the changes made. The minister in his dictation even referred to punctuations coma, semicolon, etc. When the typed draft was brought, it was so perfect that it could be straightaway signed without any change. Such was his grasp of the subject and the ability to sift the grain from the chaff. As to Shri Pranab Mukherjee, l would like to refer to his enormous knowledge of various subjects and his erudition. It was a late evening one day that I got a call from the Finance Ministers office that the Finance Minister of Nepal would be meeting our Finance Minister and that I, the Chairman of the Board at that time, should also attend the meeting. Several things were discussed in the meeting including tariffs and procedural issues. Somehow the discussion veered around to the issue of federalism. Shri Pranab Mukherjee gave a masterly discourse on the various aspects that are relevant in establishing a federal structure of governance, the Indian experience, the evolution of Federalism in India, etc., all of which showed his immense knowledge of constitutional issues. It was a great learning experience for all those present in the meeting. For me the few incidents narrated above and several other such occasions were very enriching experiences. I consider myself privileged to have served such eminent ministers.
July 2012

My Contempt Suit & Other Stories

Sukumar Mukhopadhyay
Ex-Member, CBEC

We, of the 1961 Batch, landed at the Custom Houses when the Sea Customs Act, 1978, was ending its 84-year-old run and the Customs Act, 1962, was being ushered in. At this juncture, all officers of Customs from Preventive officers to Appraisers to Collector used to quote fluently from the old Act and fumble for the corresponding Sections in the new Act. One Section which the Preventive Department always used to take pride in quoting was 17BA of the old Act and the corresponding 123 of the new Act. Fortunately we, the Probationers in Calcutta Customs House (three of our Batch, meaning 50 per cent of the total number of six, in contrast with the present number of 170), got as our Collector from 1964, Shri M. G. Abrol who was the father of the Act. He became our teacher instantaneously and of the whole Custom House about anything relating to the Customs Act. The prevailing joke in the Custom House was, When in doubt, ask Abrol. When we joined the Calcutta Custom House, the Collector was Shri M.A. Rangaswamy. When I first entered his room, which was as huge as a basketball ground, he was sitting at the end of a matching huge table made of mahogany. I had to walk a considerable distance to reach the table and that created an awe for the man who was at the other side.
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Story of the Table I have many memories relating to the table. The one which is worth narrating is about when I became collector there in 1983 and sat at the same awe-inspiring table. One day Mr Abrol came to my room after his retirement. We were his probationers and he was always very indulgent to us. The stories of his giving protection to his Assistant Collectors were legendary. So when he came, I called other Collectors in Calcutta to my room and we were chatting. He suddenly noticed that below that table there was a wooden plank which was placed to share a part of the mighty weight of its torso. He said, I say, why is this plank below this table? On the spur of the moment I replied, Colonialism was resting on its laurels. Everybody laughed. It was really a colonial table and it looked like 150 years old at that time. Leslie Claudius One of the special persons in the Calcutta Custom House was the illustrious Mr Cladius, the great Olympic Hockey Player and captain of the Indian team. We like to show him off. On all formal occasions he was a special invitee. One of his photographs is attached. My contempt suit Many of my contemporaries know that I had picked up many contempt cases against
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me both in Calcutta and Bombay. (I hasten to add that I did not really do any contempt of court as I won all of them.) In the process, there are some anecdotes which you may like to hear. The then Chairman of the Calcutta Port Trust, Mr Tarun Dutt, once came to my office to attend the ceremony of giving pension on the last day of the month. After the function, he went to the ante-room and found that I had a suit and a neck-tie hanging there. He realised that since I often had to go to the Court at short notice, I had kept the suit and tie there. He immediately named it as my contempt suit. Thereafter it came to be known by that name always. My contempt friends The Court Rule in contempt cases is that one who is alleged to have been charged with contempt has to stand in the Court during trial. When I was standing one day I had a very distinguished compatriot, the Navy Chief in Calcutta. He was in his dazzling white uniform and standing next to me. It happened more than once. We therefore exchanged notes and became instant friends being co-sufferers. We became friends outside the office also. So I used to get invitation to Navy parties regularly. And do not underestimate the Navy parties! For the same reason I got very friendly with the then Chief Secretary of West Bengal also. But alas! Chief Secretaries throw no parties! Parliament Question that I Love to Remember How a Parliament Question is to be
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answered is best illustrated by this story. A car driver lost his way in a jungle. There was no sun in the sky and no shadows of trees to give him any help. There was no passer-by either. After a long wait, he spotted a car coming from the opposite side. He raised his hand to stop the car. The car slowed down. He asked the driver of the moving car, Where am I? The driver in the moving car replied, In your car. The moral of the story is that the answer leaves the questioner at the same level of ignorance. He will know nothing more. This classic principle was followed when one Parliament Question was asked about me by name. The question was asked by a certain lawyer in Calcutta who used to appear in contempt cases against me and he was also a Member of the Parliament. The question about me was something like this: (a) Sukumar Mukhopadhyay, lAS, has been making statement in the media which ............ is the Government aware of it? (b) What action has been taken against him? The reply that was given was: (a) Sukumar Mukhopadhyay is not an IAS. (b) In view of the above, the question does not arise. The Story of Learning Urdu The story of my learning Urdu has fascinated me for the last 47 years. So I thought I may share it with you now. In 1964 I was posted in Central Excise in Rampur in UP after my training was over. Rampur lies between Moradabad and Bareily. It is an
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erstwhile State, which merged with India after Independence. The previous Nawab of Rampur was as famous for his big harem as the new Nawab was famous for his modernism. Rampur was always known for classical music, mangoes and big long knives. The Rampur Chaku would make a crick sound when being opened and that would make the people run for their lives. The famous Tabalchi, Ustad Keramathulla was from Rampur. There was a Rampur Gharana of which the surviving exponent was SuraSagar Sajjad Husain Khan, who used to teach us classical music for a princely sum of Rs 20 a month. Rampur was at that time predominantly an Urdu-speaking area. When I landed at the Rampur station and got my luggage down from the Punjab Mail, I was received by a few people from my office. One of them told me, Saab, aap tashrif ley aiyae. I understood it to mean that I have to bring something along with me. I knew that ley aiyae means, to bring along. I thought that I was required to bring the tashrif. I looked at my luggage. There was a big bedding, which obviously I would not be required to carry. Nor was I supposed to carry the big trunk, nor the heavy barbell, which was my prized possession. The only other thing was the radio. So I thought that tashrif must be the radio. So I tried to pick up the radio when one of them told me, Sir, leave it there. Please come with us. Next day I joined the office and found a very suave gentleman called Mr. Dube, who was my Head Clerk. I developed confidence in him in no time and realised that I could
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confide in him the lack of my knowledge of Urdu. I asked Mr. Dube the meaning of tashrif. His smiled and asked me who said what about tashrif. I told him about the conversation in the railway station. He then explained to me the meaning of the word and where it could be used. Dube then became my permanent Urdu teacher. So my first word in Urdu was tashrif. The second Urdu word I learned was after I faced a piquant situation in the office. The tobacco merchants of Rampur came to see me as I was the new Circle Officer (as it was known at that time). Nearly eight of them sat in front of me. They were all very aweinspiring, imposing personalities with big flowing beards. They opened the conversation in chaste Urdu and continued to speak fluently non-stop without any regard to whether I was following them or not. Frankly, I did not understand one word. I spoke something in English welcoming them and assuring them that I will meet them often and definitely look into their problems, etc. etc. I am quite sure that they did not understand one word of it. After a lot of such conversation, which was all one-sided from both sides, I heard them repeatedly saying, aap izzazat dijiye. I thought they were asking for izzazat but I did not know what it was. I asked them in English what they wanted. Again they said, izzazat dijiye. After it happened several times, I called Dube to my room and asked him what they were asking. Dube explained to me in low voice, which obviously all of them could hear, that they want permission to go. So I steadied myself on my chair and said, Izzazat hai. They all trooped out of my room.
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Dube and I had an understanding smile for each other. Gradually I learnt other words such as mustakeel, itmenan, ittefaq, intezar, mustakeel, etc. Each one has a story attached to it. Sundarbans and the full moon In the Collectorate of Central Excise and Customs, West Bengal, there is one steamer called M V Vigilant. It was as slow as slow could be. It should have been renamed Luxury. When I was Collector there from 1980 to 1983 I went several times in that to the Sunderbans. There was the famous Jharkhali forest which was the abode of tigers. We had to cross the famous Matla River which was so wide that we could not see the other end. The river was shallow but so turbulent that the name Matla (which means drunk) is derived from the way in which a drunk walks. All the crew used to be worried at the time of crossing the river. And we always used to cross it in the high noon. One day when we were crossing Matla, our steamer got grounded. It touched the river bed. The water receded and we could see the water flowing at a far distance. Our boat was left high and dry. That time I realized what this expression really means. We had with us the young Assistant Collector Arun Sahu who had also taken his wife for this trip as he was recently married. This boat had separate rooms for such newly married couples also. Arun and my younger son Amit took the help of the ropes and got down on the river bed. So did other crew members. They caught hold of some small crabs due to the expertise
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of one of the crew. The crew also had good cooks. So we had a great lunch. We had to wait for the high tide for our Vigilant to float. But the evening was also approaching. I found two members of the crew who were constantly standing at one place and watching something on the shore. They said that they were watching the two big trees. The compass had gone out of order. Somehow they managed to steer the boat in between these two trees to reach a tributary of the river called Netidubani. We were supposed to park our boat there for the night. Just when our boat was floating with the high tide, out came the queen moon in the sky a huge golden circle rising from the end of the river where the jungle met the water. It was a full moon night. There was no sound any where excepting that of the flowing water. In the quietness and the solitude, this particular moon that I saw that evening remains the biggest compensation for all the troubles that I faced later in my working life. I still remember that moon vividly whenever I think of a beautiful moon. Euthanasia of the Red Books I am writing this part of the story piece about losing our power of administering licence with the same nostalgia with which a Britisher would rue the loss of the British Empire. With the Quantitative Restrictions on import (QRs) gone, life is no longer the same for us who enforced them. In the sixties in the Custom Houses in India, particularly in Calcutta (as it then was),
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there were two Red Books. One was Maos Red Book and the other was the Licence Policy Book. Maos Red Books used to come (as a part of Chinese propaganda literature) as unsolicited gifts to thousands of people. They were in English, Bengali, and Chinese too. There was no space in the foreign post office to keep anything else. It was a critical situation. All fresh bags were lying outside. It was an uphill task disposing them of legally. Summary disposals had to be resorted to, to prevent them from reaching their target readers. Once they came to know that we were making a bonfire of them, they stopped sending them. At that time I justified the action by resorting to the well-known dictum, An unnatural problem needs an unnatural solution. I flattered myself for my application of the logic called Lateral Thinking. With the change in the political equation between China and the extremist communists in India, the import of Red Books also died its natural death. The other Red Book, the Import Policy Book, had a much longer and charmed life. It was called Red Book because the cover was red. The current joke those days was that it was red because those who wanted to import goods used to see red. It was called Red Book by one and all in the importing world by Customs, clearing agents, traders and import control authorities. We had in it different policies for different classes of importers such as Established Importers, Actual Users, and those under Export
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Promotion Schemes. Goods, which were not manufactured in India, could be imported on production of NMI certificate issued by the Director General of Technical Development. Certificates were galore. Then there was Recommendation letters from the Chief Controller of Imports. And Customs would refuse to accept them if they were thought to be wrong. Now the Red Book has become white both in colour and content. The shackles on imports have been removed. The QRs have almost gone. It is all for the better. The Red Book has died its natural death. We need not rue its demise. DG ( NACEN) One of the best things that happened to me is that I was DG NACEN for the three batches of 1990, 1991 and 1992. There were nearly 500 probationers. I loved to lecture to them regularly. I poured all my accumulated knowledge into these lectures. I taught them how to solve problems by lateral thinking. And I had parties with them in the evening which developed a kind of friendship. Now after so many years of retirement, when I feel sometimes that hardly any officer has any time for retired people, these probationers, who are now pretty senior by their own right, always have an extra warmth reserved for me when I meet them .Which is what warms my heart.

24

July 2012

Memoirs
Sukumar Sankar IRS
Chairman (Retd.) CBEC

After College I took the competitive examinations for UPSC, SBI and RBI once. UPSC called me for IAS/IFS interview and selected me for Central Services (Customs and Central Excise Central Information Service) and Police. The first appointment order was issued by CBEC. I joined the Department on September 30, 1966. The order said on or before October 1, 1966. I arrived at Bombay on September 29, 1966, and after having an intense discussion with taxi drivers regarding the location of Central Excise Collectorate at Queens Way, an elderly person intervened and told them Aare Tambacoo ....... Rishi Karve Marg Se and solved my problem. Till then Malum Nahi was the most popular phrase. When I reached the Central Excise Office no one bothered to give me directions and I kept on making rounds of the office till someone suggested that I should try the Custom House nearby. In the Custom House the same thing happened! Moreover, Custom House was far busier and crowded. Then someone suggested that I meet AC (ECTT). Finally I located him and two more officers were with him. One of them was my senior from school. The other officer asked me whether I have any other career option! I mentioned about Central Information Services and Police. He told me to join them, gloomily saying that he joined seven years ago and was still an AC. Moreover, he said, there were four senior people who were still ACs! But somehow I kept my mouth shut.
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Perhaps, God had put a hand on my shoulder and kept another over my mouth! However, both of us retired as Chairman of Board of Central Board of Excise and Customs. When the training started, I found that I had a wonderful set of batchmates and very nice senior officers. It was all quite pleasant. The high point of my probation was departmental exams. Every one said it was very difficult, but to my amazement I cleared all my written exams, including Hindi! Thanks to everyones help! But I got into serious difficulty in Hindi interview. My Collector was very nice but the Additional Collector was very strict. He expected me to speak in Shudh Hindi that too from a person from Madras who had undergone and suffered anti-Hindi protests. Whenever I tried to think and used an English word he said, Hindi may bolo, Angrezi nahin. Finally I kept quiet. Then he turned towards the Collector and said, Let him come for the next years interview, and ended the issue. I stood up and was trying to remember what my batchmates taught me to say. But all I could remember was Saavdhaan and not Dhanyawaad. My instinct told me to keep quiet. I said thank you in English, getting a dirty look from the Additional Collector. When I told my (mis) adventure, everyone had a hearty laugh. Finally, I cleared my Hindi interview at Bombay Central Excise Collectorate next year. The Collector was very nice and sympathetic and told his Deputy Collector not to ask any difficult questions. After finishing my probation, I was posted to field formation. I had a glorious time for 35 years and one month. I left on October 31, 2001, from Delhi to Madras (Chennai).
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Of course there were highs and lows. I always believed in keeping life simple like, Less is better than more. I remained a bachelor and was very lucky not to have any dependents and having a place to stay. I hope to go out of the same house and the same room where I was born! I am always grateful to three Gs in my life. God, for what all he has done to me till now; Government of India (GOI) for giving me a wonderful department where, believe it or not people, still remember, meet me, write to me and ring me up now and then; and, my Grandfather (my maternal grandfather) for making me financially independent and allowing me to have a house to stay! What more do you need in life. [Thanks to Shri S. K. Goel, Ms Rashida Hussain, Ms Neeta Lal Butalia, Shri Rama Rao, Local NACEN staff, particulary Shri Arun Singh] M.M. Bhatnagar
Ex-Member, CBEC

and we could hardly visualise a bright future for us. We thought that we would not be able to reach the top in the Service hierarchy. However, the last three decades have witnessed a phenomenal growth of the Department not only in terms of the volume and complexity of the work but also of the personnel at all levels. The Department has fully measured up to the new challenges and responsibilities thrown up by rapid industrialisation and expansion of international trade. New areas of concern, like massive increase in narcotics trafficking, particularly the transit traffic of narcotics across the country s borders, demanding urgent attention emerged. The Department played a very vital and effective role in coming to grips with such problems which appeared on the horizon. For me personally, it has been a most pleasant experience to work for about 34 years in the most diverse fields of the Departments activities. I have seen the Department grow from strength to strength and adapting and reorienting itself to the needs of the unfolding environment and newly emerging concepts and approaches. I have no doubt that our Department is one of the finest under the Government of India and has done the country proud by its performance. It has become the envy of most of the other Services. It is rendering valuable service to the country by collecting the major share of the much-needed revenues for the countrys development and progress. The Department also has a bright future in terms of the progression and elevation of personnel in the Service hierachy since there has been a continuing and rapid expansion in various cadres, particularly during recent years, and I have no doubt that the same trend and process will continue.
26 July 2012

I joined the Department in 1959 as a direct recruit to the fifth batch of Central Excise Service, Class I. My batch had the distinction of being the last batch of direct recruits to Central Excise Service Class I before its merger with Customs Service Class I and the constitution of the Combined Customs & Central Excise Service Class I (now redesignated as Group A) on August 15, 1959. The Foundational Course for the combined training of direct recruits to various services was also started with my batch initially at the erstwhile IAS Training School, Metcalf House, Delhi, which later shifted to Mussourie with its new nomenclature as National Academy of Administration. The Department at that time was comparatively new and very small
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In order to maintain and further brighten up the face of the Department and to impart it additional dynamism and glow, it is necessary that the officers/staff of the Department inculcate and imbibe a strong sense and feeling of belonging and a common wealth for the Service/ Department as a whole. February 9, 1994 lIa Chatterjee
Ex Member, CBEC

batch was concerned, examinations were held as per the then Acts in force. For our training, three of the seven probationers were allotted to Calcutta Zone and two each to Bombay and Madras. With my two batchmates, Tarun Roy and Sukumar Mukhopadhya, I visited and saw the working of the various departments in the Calcutta Custom House, starting from the Import Department, through Appraising Groups and to Manifest Clearing Department, etc. While attending the weekly Monday meetings in the chamber of the then Collector of Customs, Mr M.A. Rangaswamy, we came to know that a comprehensive and simple worded Customs Act was being drafted by a senior Member, Mr M.G. Abrol, covering Sea, Land and Air Customs and would come out shortly. At the Customs House, l also had the opportunity of meeting Ms Kaushalya Narayanan, the then Asstt. Coliector (Appraising), little realising that it would be the last chance of meeting her before destiny took her away from this world. Though training in Customs remained confined within the Custom House and occasional visits to the Port areas, other parts of training involved visits to factories and tobacco fields. These were interesting. For example, we took a trip to Coochbehar in North Bengal to see the tobacco growing areas on a small Indian Airlines plane. The only passengers other than the IRS probationers were the Chairman, United Brewaries Ltd. and the Prince of Coochbehar Royal family (a trained pilot), who took over from the Airlines Pilot for a part of the flight. Again, for Central Excise Training, although advance intimation was always given to the manufacturing units about the visit of IRS probationers, we were stopped at the entry gate of Durgapur Steel Plant, West Bengal,
27 July 2012

June 7, 1961, was a memorable day of my life when I joined as a Probationer in the National Academy of Administration, Mussourie, for a 5-month Foundational course of training. I was allotted Indian Customs & Central Excise Service, Class l. Seven Probationers were allotted to this service and we were to report after completion of training to the Director Inspection, Customs & Central Excise, Delhi, Mr K Bhattachajee. At the Directorate of Inspection, a detailed programme of training in Customs, Central Excise & Narcotics was given for the remaining period of 2-year probation, as also a schedule of Departmental Examination to be cleared during the period. A List of Acts and Manuals was also given which we were to study for these examinations. The list included Sea Customs Act, 1878, Land Customs Act, Opium Act, Dangerous Drugs Act, Central Excise & Salt Act as also the Tobacco Excise Manual. AII the above Acts were promulgated during the British regime which were repealed/substituted later on during our career and with the duty on unmanufactured tobacco being withdrawn subsequently, Tobacco Excise Manual became redundant. However, as far as our
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because I was wearing a saree, which was considered unsafe for the steel plant! Two years later, l was posted as Superintendent, Central Excise, at Rourkela Steel Plant, Orissa. (During those days, we were posted as Superintendent, Class I, on Central Excise side till completion of five years of service). Also, our journey from the Opium Factory, Gazipur, UP, to Gwalior by train through the dacoit-infested area of Chambal Valley during night provided ample excitement. On arrival, the then Narcotics Commissioner, Gwalior, Mr D.N. Kohli, described us as the Three Musketeers from Calcutta. My first field posting was as Superintendent of Central Excise, Class l, Rayagada, in the District of Koraput in Orissa bordering Andhra Pradesh. It is now the hotbed of Maoist activities. Jurisdiction of the Rayagada Circle comprised a hilly terrain, with some tobacco growing areas dotted with a few tobacco warehouses. The nearest town from the Circle Headquarters was Vizianagram in Andhra Pradesh, where the Circle Jeep had to be sent periodically for servicing. During my one year of posting, while travelling in the office jeep with an Inspector and a sepoy, there was hardly any occasion to feel insecure. I was, however, once alarmed when the Range Officer at Kantabanji informed me that a tiger would often sleep at night in the verandah of the Range Office and a strong smell would spread around indicating the nocturnal arrival. The Range Officer lived in the adjoining premises. Some incidents in my career are still vivid in my mind which I reflect upon today with nostalgia. One such is the day when as Assistant Collector of Customs in Delhi Collectorate Headquarters, I had alerted the Palam Airport Customs about the arrival of a
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tourist named Miss Sonia Maino who was to be the future daughter-in-law of the then Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Mrs Indira Gandhi. Next day, the newspapers flashed the news of her engagement to Mr Rajiv Gandhi. When I joined the Service, the atmosphere all round was quite healthy and the integrity of the officers as a whole was good. Of course, there were black sheep here and there but that could be managed with suitable punishment. For instance, as the Headquarters Asstt. Collector (HAC) in Delhi Collectorate handling postings and transfers of Executive Officers of the Northern Zone (which was the jurisdiction of the then Delhi Collectorate), I had transferred a corrupt Inspector from Palam Airport to Jaisalmer Range Office in desert area of Rajasthan. But the then Collector, Mr Raghuvir Prasad, had to face embarrassment before a Minister (the Inspector being the Ministers nephew, Collector had to change the posting to a nonsensitive post, but within Delhi). However, the situation started changing very quickly. Corruption became rampant at all levels and the malaise tarnished the image of the Department. Although I felt honoured when I became the first lady Member of the Board of Excise & Customs (Central Board of Direct Taxes also did not have any that time), I was hesitant to introduce myself as an officer belonging to a specific service. I simply mentioned that I belonged to Government Service. Drastic steps need to be taken urgently to weed out corruption. lt is still not too late. Perhaps the situation can be retrieved if efforts are made at appropriate levels. The NACEN at Faridabad (I happened to be DG before I became Member), as the nursery for young budding officers, has a role to play to
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emphasise moral values to the young Probationers and making them realize their responsibility towards the Department as a whole that a great deal is expected from them, that they are the foundation on which the good name the Department rests. lndian Customs & Excise Service has to redeem itself and deliver. lf it does not do so, it does not justify to exist. P. K. Singh
Commissioner (Retd.) Customs & Central Excise

(I) The primary function of the Raxaul Land Customs Station was implementation of IndoNepal Trade and Transit Treaty, apart from prevention of smuggling. Hundreds of trucks carrying cargo to land-locked Nepal used to pass through this Customs Check Post and not so affluent foreign nationals chose this route to Kathmandu the Sangria-fa in Nepal. During my tenure at Raxaul as the first Class I officer in the late 1960s and early 1970s (Nov 1970 to June 1972), Nepal was a haven for the hippies who were lured to Kathmandu, more for a puff of ganja, hashish and marijuana than for anything else. During this period a portion of Navketans film Hare Ram Hare Krishna was shot in the picturesque valley of Kathmandu with the debutante heroine Zeenat Aman starring opposite debonair Dev Anand. A new star Zeenat was born. Swinging to the title song, she swept the youth off their feet. The canned reels containing portions picturised in the valley posed a problem of clearance through the Land Customs Station of Raxaul and I insisted upon payment of import duty.
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(II) Senior Inspector S Banerjee, the bachelor sleuth, once nabbed two American nationals smuggling hashish in a Volkswagen travelling under Carnet System. The consignment of hashish stuffed in tin containers was kept cleverly concealed in the specially designed secret chamber under the vans carpeted floor. A curious crowd congregated in the Customs House of Raxaul to have a dekko, more at the manacled Americans than at the haul of hashish. The tainted vehicle was seized. The rules permitted spending a measly amount of Rs 20 per month on maintenance of a seized vehicle and inadequacy of sanctioned fund, at times, had to be made good from personal contributions. As no departmental vehicle was provided to the lCS (we had to requisition one in case of emergency from the Divisional Office at Motihari), we started using the Volkswagen in anti- smuggling operations and, of course, for visit to the Divisional Office, especially on pay day for collecting our pay-packets. On a couple of occasions, the vehicle was also put to use for outing on a picnic. (III) The volume of trade between India and Nepal transiting through Raxaull CS was mind-boggling. Landlocked Nepal is dependent on India for practically everything from salt to sugar. Back then industrial growth in Nepal was too tardy to impact her fragile economy. Indian goods, barring a few restricted items, had free access to the Nepalese market and similarly indigenously produced commodities in Nepal could be freely imported into India. Except on import
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of cars, hardly any Customs duty was levied and collected. Despite prevalence of free trade between India and her Himalayan neighbour, in 1970 utter chaos reigned on the border with the expiry of 10-year Indo-Nepal Treaty of Trade and Transit. We had to bear the brunt when even essential commodities were not allowed to cross the border for a couple of days. We had to work overtime attending to queries from the trade concerning the commodities that could be permitted to cross the border. Absence of instructions made our task more difficult. Banking solely on common sense, I used my discretion to monitor the cargo traffic that was threatening to become chaotic and unmanageable. Loaded trucks carrying a variety of merchandise had lined up on either side of the international border. From the balcony of my office could be seen an endless convoy of stranded heavy vehicles and we had to clear the mess. For two days I became both a policy maker and an instrument of implementation. To make an on-the-spot assessment of the situation, V N Chopra, OSD Nepal, came from Delhi after a couple of days carrying a list of prohibited items. He was kind enough to okay in writing my already taken decisions allowing the movement of certain goods through the lCS. (IV) Siliguri in early 1970s posed insurmountable challenges. Siliguris geographical location made it a fast developing centre of commerce and trade. Shedding its regional character, it was gradually emerging from obscurity to
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cosmopolitanism. The silk route to Sikkim, then an independent Himalayan homeland, Nepal, Bhutan and, of course, the seven sisters of the North-East lay through the heart of the city. The nascent nation of Bangladesh was only a few kilometers away. Increased commercial activities brought prosperity to Siliguri but not without its concomitant evils. With the spurt in floating population, the existence of a huge military settlement headed by a Lt. General and a BSF base at Kadamtala under an Inspector General in and around the burgeoning city, night life of Siliguri was colourful as it was romantic. And along with normal commercial activity, illicit trade of smuggling, the second oldest profession in the world, was flourishing. In the heart of the Bidhan Market, a series of shops had sprung up selling toiletries, toys, textiles, transistors and a whole lot of electronic goods, all smuggled from Dhulabari in Nepal across Mechhi river in close proximity to notorious Naxalbari in Siliguri sub-division. Not only were the shops dealing In foreign goods, they had collectively acquired an exotic name as well Hongkong Market less than 500 meters from the Siliguri Customs House. Only during emergency the unemployed youth of the locality who were working as fronts for the financier-racketeers went underground like most other anti-socials. Despite their entire stock-in-trade being regularly confiscated and penalty imposed, they remained undeterred. The financial stake for them was obviously high as was the consumers craze for commodities marked with Made in China
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or Made in Japan. The saris of Surat and lighters of Ludhiana were passed off as foreign stuff. The unwary customers were happy so long as their chosen items bore the markings indicating the country of origin other than India. Our Intelligence Unit constantly fed me (I was then working as Assistant Collector of Customs, North Bengal Division) with secret information about the smugglers operating in Indo-Nepal and Indo- Bangladesh borders. A piece of explosive intelligence marked Top Secret was highly disturbing that put me in a Hamlets ambivalence. Air Force planes were being used to transport from Bagdogra airport smuggled goods destined for Delhi. Bagdogra not being a civilian airport was manned and maintained by the Air Force. Discreet enquiry confirmed the intelligence. This was reported to my boss and I was informed that the matter would be taken up at the highest level. Use of Army vehicles to carry foreign goods from Dhulabari in Nepal was another challenge we had to face. Normally, Army vehicles are not searched at the Panitanki Customs Station and our officers ignored small items brought by the Jawans for personal use. But when transport of foreign goods in commercial quantity came to notice, my officers sought my instructions. I gave them green signal to go ahead while simultaneously taking up the matter with senior Army personnel at Sukna. The message conveyed in the meeting, unfortunately, produced little effect on the Army top brass.
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One fine morning my boys brought to the Customs House a Jonga loaded with assorted foreign goods. I ordered immediate seizure of the goods along with the carrier vehicle. One Brigadier came down to my office and requested to make the seizure as unclaimed. I did not want my officers to show in the seizure report that the goods were recovered from some abandoned house or they (carriers of smuggled goods) fled in the darkness of night. To the Brigadiers plea for the release of the Jonga, I readily agreed. A seized vehicle is provisionally released on execution of a Bond binding the owner to produce it before the Customs as and when required and against a security deposit of an amount to be fixed by me. The Bond was required to be accepted by me on behalf of the President of India and in this case as the vehicle belonged to the Central Government, it was also to be signed on behalf of the President of India as executor. A piquant situation the executor and the acceptor of the Bond was the same person. My office could not enlighten me as no seized vehicle had ever been released without a Bond being executed. In order to overcome the technical impasse, I suggested a simple undertaking waiving the requirement of a security deposit, but the Brigadier was reluctant to put his signature. I was adamant. In fact, to my knowledge, there existed no precedence of seizure of any vehicle owned by the Central Government. The Jonga vehicle remained under the Customs custody for two days. On the third day, A M Sinha, then Collector of Customs, Patna, in charge of Indo-Nepal border visited Siliguri to sort out the matter.
July 2012

Indian Customs Through the Ages

K. Sankararaman
Ex-Member, CEGAT (1998)

During my posting in the Bombay Custom House in the mid-sixties, the then Revenue Secretary, G Venkateswara Iyer, visited the Custom House for a meeting with the Assistant Collectors. We introduced ourselves and briefly mentioned about the work handled in our respective departments like Appraising, Preventive, Drawback, etc. When a colleague introduced himself as the Assistant Collector of Imports and Exports, the Revenue Secretary quipped that was about all that the Custom House was concerned with and wondered in jest what all the others were doing! Then there was a very interesting case related to the import of a post parcel containing stamp albums which had tremendous humane appeal. These were claimed as re-imported material, having been exported earlier for being shown as exhibits in a philatelic exhibition abroad. Due to some irregularity in the export and subsequent re-import, adjudication proceedings were initiated. The case was strongly contested with a Senior Counsel appearing for the importer. The Departments expert witness to testify about the identity and valuation of the stamps was Mr Jal Cooper, a renowned authority on philately who used to contribute regularly in The Illustrated Weekly of India. The import was by an elderly and seriously ill Parsi couple and the albums were very dear to them. They very much wanted to get them back in their lifetime. As a goodwill gesture, the parcel was allowed to be taken to their residence under a proper escort. They got the impression that the stamp collection, which was as dear to them as their child, had been restored to them. This gesture received appreciative coverage in the press. There was another interesting case. One
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Mr F Aladdin used to quite regularly send used household gadgets purportedly for repair and return and exemption from import licence requirements and from import duty was being claimed. It was found that new articles were being imported in exchange for the old ones sent out. The regularity of the transactions prompted the then Additional Collector of Customs to remark that the only thing not exported by him was a lamp. Tourists visiting India are permitted to bring into the country their motor vehicles on the strength of a valid carnet de passage issued by approved Automobile Association under what is known as the Triptyque system. The import is on temporary basis for their use during their stay here and the vehicles are to be eventually taken out of India within the permissible time limit. In December 1972, as Under Secretary in the Boards office handling inter alia the aforesaid triptyque matters, I had to deal with a tourist who had brought a car which was held up in Calcutta for want of the required carnet. He was referred by the Custom House to the Ministry to regularise the import under proper alternative procedure. I requested him to give a letter setting out the facts. He wrote out his application in his well-embellished letter-paper. After ordering issue of instructions to the Custom House for release of the car with proper (Bank) guarantee for the re-export of the car after use in India, I drew his attention to some printed contents of his letter and asked him why he had not done such a feat with his car in Calcutta. The letter listed his various feats as a magician in different fora and before high dignitaries and the relevant entry that drew my attention was his feat of making a car disappear in a TV show in Japan.
July 2012

My Experience in Air Customs

S. Venkatarama Iyer
Retd. Spl. Secy. to the GOI, and DG, CEIB

The fifty years since the enactment of the Customs Act have witnessed several changes in all fields of the working of the Customs Department. These include organizational changes. Several new institutions have been set up and are contributing significantly to the basic functions of the Department. The method of working has also undergone a sea change imbibing technological advancements. Along with the creation of new organizations, there have been changes in the designation of officers and level of officers heading different wings. One such change is the level of officers manning the airports. I joined the Bombay Custom House as a probationer in the India Customs Service in November 1957 and was posted as Assistant Collector of Customs as the post was then known. All the functions in Santa Cruz and other international airports passenger clearance, imports and exports were supervised by one Preventive Inspector of Customs or Superintendent of Customs, a Class II Officer. At that time, Bombay Custom House had just 16 Assistant Collectors apart from the Collector, Additional Collector and Deputy Collector. Now the number of Chief Commissioners and Commissioners of Customs posted at Mumbai is 16. The Chief Customs Officer posted at the airport is a Commissioner. During the early 1960s, there were many complaints regarding the working of the airports, particularly passenger clearance,
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which is extremely important from the public relations angle. With the enactment of the Customs Act, 1962, in place of the Sea Customs Act, 1878, the need for exercising discretion in various matters had also increased. It was against this background that Air Customs Wing was set up in 1963. The head of Air Customs at the international airports was upgraded from Preventive Inspector/Superintendent to Assistant Collector. Officers were specially selected for the post with special pay and allowances. For the Assistant Collectors, there was a monthly special pay of Rs 150 (Rs 50 less than that for an Under Secretary), a diet allowance of Rs 45, uniform allowance of Rs 200 and an equipment allowance of Rs 250. (It is interesting to note that when I joined the service, the Assistant Collectors pay scale was Rs 350-350-380-380-30-590-EB-30770-40- 850. The Second Pay Commission made only marginal changes in the pay scale with effect from July 1, 1959. The Assistant Collectors were not entitled to any reward). I was the first officer to be selected as Assistant Collector (Air Customs) and was posted at Palam Airport. The other officers were M S Budhwar at Santa Cruz, BB Julka at Dum Dum and T S Swaminathan at Meenambakkam. Most of the flights were at night and the Assistant Collector was expected to be present. Import and export matters had also to be attended to, mostly at forenoon. It was under very trying circumstances that we were working as Air
July 2012

Customs Officers. Initially, no vehicle was provided and we had to commute to the airport on our own. It was only later that conveyance was provided to Assistant Collectors. The passenger clearance hall in Palam measured about 100 feet by 60 feet with a couple of cabins at one end for the Assistant Collector and the Superintendent. The baggage would be brought inside where the officer would be standing and the airline loaders would place the bags on the counter for examination. On most nights, there were flights continuously from 10 pm to 6 am. There were a few international flights, like the Aeroflot, landing during the day. The airport authorities had provided one room where one could take rest when there was a break in the continuous flow of flights. On particular nights, if I remember correctly, on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays, there was not a single minute without an aircraft to be attended to. As the workload increased and it became almost impossible for one Assistant Collector to attend to all matters, one more officer was posted and the work was shared. Even then, the duty hours on many days extended up to 18 hours and on rare occasions, up to 24 hours and beyond. I recall, three such occasions. The first such occasion was when there was a seizure of 96 kg of gold biscuits from two passengers transiting through Palam in a Pan Am flight from Paris to Macau. That was the time when gold smuggling was rampant. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence had information about two carriers of gold in that flight. According to the information, they would be wearing red ties and would alight and proceed to the transit lounge and meet their two contacts. The
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identity of the carriers with their contacts was to be established by the standard procedure of a dollar note cut into two. Once the contact was established, the passengers each carrying 48 kg of gold in the inner jacket were to go to the toilet and dump the jackets. The contacts would collect these and proceed to dispose the gold through agreed routes. After the flight landed, we entered the cabin, but there was no passenger wearing a red tie. By elimination, we identified about half-a-dozen possible candidates. A couple of preventive officers got inside the crowd of alighting passengers, and in the process, felt their back to see whether they were wearing jackets. One officer, A L Beri, came from the opposite direction, and as though by mistake, bumped into a few passengers. He could identify one passenger who had a very hard back and it did not take much time to identify the other. They were brought to my room. Among the papers they were carrying was one which gave questions likely to be asked by Customs and the answers they were to give. They were to pretend that they did not know any English. The two were arrested and the two jackets seized under panchnama. Thereafter, the law took its course. By the time I could get back home the next day, I had been on duty for over 20 hours. Another big case of seizure at the airport was from one Dr Ghosh, who was caught carrying several small cloth sacks containing balls of sand mixed with gold powder. There was no information in this case. Dr Ghosh was a Professor of Chemistry in Gold Coast and was proceeding to Calcutta with his wife and daughter. The flight had arrived at about dawn. One of our officers, Katyal, noticed the undue anxiety on the part of this passenger,
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who, saying that he would miss his connecting flight to Calcutta, even jumped over the counter to identify his bags. The officer brought this to my notice. The passengers baggage was opened and examined, revealing these heavy bags. The passenger contended that these were samples of sand from Gold Coast for his research. I called the Chemical Examiner, T S Krishnan, who came to the airport at midnight. It was found that there was gold powder settling at the bottom when placed in a glass of water after crushing the balls. Further, the balls showed under a magnifying glass clear signs of warp and weft of the cloth used to make these balls using some binding resin. The passenger was arrested and produced before the magistrate late in the afternoon. In the meantime, his wife and child were provided with whatever comfort that could be given. The sand balls were seized and further proceedings initiated. The total gold content turned to be over 45 kg. It was after about 24 hours of duty that I could leave the airport on that occasion. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru passed away on May 27, 1964. I had returned from the airport at about 10 am. When the news reached me in the afternoon, I had to rush back to the airport. A large number of diplomats and VVIPs arrived from all over the world. There were also journalists and TV crew with equipment and consumables. For three to four days, we work was very hectic. It was a matter of great satisfaction that the clearance was done very smoothly and there was not a single instance of harassment, which would have put the Customs in a very bad light. There were many instances of delicate cases in Palam, where on-the-spot decision
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had to be taken and which could be questioned later. There was the case of a Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry proceeding to take part in an International Conference in Europe as Indias representative. He was caught smuggling out foreign exchange. After seizing the foreign currency and Travellers Cheques, I allowed him to proceed so that India did not go unrepresented in the conference. Proceedings were drawn up against him on his return. It was while I was posted at Palam that the Indo-Pak War broke out in September 1965. That was the time when we had to be part of the security arrangements in the airport. We had to follow the procedures as in the Union War Book. Enemy property transiting through Palam had to be offloaded. The manifesto of transiting flights had to be carefully scrutinised. I was specially authorised by my Collector, M G Koruthu, to take appropriate action without my having to take his clearance every time some suspected packages originating from Pakistan were located. I had to send a report to the Collector the next day and take ex-post facto approval. There were a large number of such cases, not only in Palam but also in all ports and airports. These were all reported by the Collectors to the Board by telex, which at that time was the fastest method of communication in print. I handed over charge as Assistant Collector (Air Customs) on December 31, 1965, to take over as Under Secretary (Customs) in CBEC. I recall that the day I took over, my Deputy Secretary, M Panchappa, gleefully handed over one almirah full of such telexes to me to sort them and prepare reports for the Boards information.
July 2012

Some Anecdotes in My Career Still Fresh in My Mind

R. Jayaraman
Ex- Member, CESTAT

When I was working as the Additional Collector of Custom in Chennai Custom House during 1975-77, I had to deal with some cases where decisions were taken by me adopting a humanitarian approach, within the permissible legal parameters. Two such cases are as follows: In one such case a lady passenger wife of an Air India employee was intercepted with Indian currency by a lady security police constable after Customs clearance. This currency was kept in her blouse. During the personal hearing, the lady and her husband appeared. As soon as they entered my room, they started crying. The husband revealed that he was an employee of Air India which got him free ticket to travel to Singapore with his family. Since his wife was with their son-in-law in Chennai, he came on the previous day so that both of them could board the flight to Singapore. A week before that there was an announcement in the newspaper that all foreign going passengers would be allowed free foreign exchange to the extent of US$500 each. So, his wife pawned some of her jewellery and raised the money for sight- seeing and shopping in Singapore. When they approached the State Bank counter in the airport to convert the Indian currency into foreign exchange, they were informed that despite the newspaper report,
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they had not received any official instruction and therefore they were given only $20 per head as per earlier instructions. As a result, they now had extra currency which they could not return to their relatives, who had left the airport after dropping them. They pleaded with the police and Customs for detaining the currency by issuing a receipt so that it could be taken back by them on return to India. This was refused by Customs because of non-declaration of currency before Customs. They also arrested them. He pleaded that if he was prosecuted, he would lose his job in Air India. To convince me of his bonafides, he produced the form presented to the State Bank of India for release of $500 each. This form had been cleared by the State Bank of India after altering the figure of $500 to $20. The form also bore the seal of the bank. The form was also part of the seized documents from the passenger, a copy of which was produced by him. He also produced mortgage receipt for pawning the jewellery. He pleaded that even if this currency was confiscated, he and his wife should not be imposed any penalty, and he should not be prosecuted. After considering his pleadings, and also on perusing the documents, I was convinced that their case appeared to be genuine. These facts were
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recorded by me and I held that since the currency had been cleared through Customs area without declaration, it had to be confiscated and the lady had to pay the penalty. However, since there had been no malafide intention, while imposing the penalty I was lenient. I also recorded that no prosecution was called for. As per the provisions of the Customs Act, goods include currency, and in view of the legal provisions for allowing any confiscated goods to be redeemed on payment of a suitable fine, I extended the offer to them for redemption of currency on payment of a fine of Rs 10,000. The case file officer, an experienced preventive officer, was surprised at the decision and stated that in the circumstances of the case, it was a just decision. I was happy about my humane approach. However, it gave rise to a complaint against me from the lady police constable who had intercepted the passenger. She was expecting a reward of Rs 4000 (10 per cent of the value of the seizure), but was given only Rs 1,000 because that was the amount realised by the Government on account of the adjudication by me. Since it was a written complaint, the Collector called for a report from me. I sent the file of the adjudication and referred to my detailed findings. The Collector returned the file with the remarks that in a case of this type, penalty need not be imposed. Though the complaint was closed, I felt I had done injustice to the lady police officer. On my next visit to the airport, I sent a word for her
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and paid Rs 2,000 out of the secret service fund, and obtained a receipt. This gesture pleased her and she said that she would continue to work diligently. Thus, I felt, I had done justice to both the sides. The second case relates to one heart surgeon serving in Sydney. I received information from an anonymous lady caller over phone that this doctor was carrying a diamond necklace of high value, and would be boarding the flight to Australia at Madras airport. I immediately passed on the information to airport Customs. By that time though the doctor had been cleared through the Customs, and was ready to board. Customs Officers rushed to the departure hall, intercepted the passenger and brought him back to the Customs enclosure for a personal search. From the pocket of his coat, a diamond necklace valued Rs 75,000 was seized. This case came up before me for adjudication. During the personal hearing, the heart surgeon from Australia revealed that he had married an Australian girl and had settled down in that country. He was born and brought up in Coimbatore. He had received a message from his brother that his mother was seriously ill and that she wanted to see him. So he had come to India on a months leave. He was with his mother only for a week before she passed away. Before her demise, she gave him the diamond necklace for his wife as her gift as it was a family heirloom. This gesture of his mother was not liked by his sister-inlaw, who too wanted this ornament.
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He knew that he had to obtain a Reserve Bank of India permit for carrying this valuable out of the country. Though he applied for the permit, he did not get it before his departure. Thus he took the necklace along with him without a permit. To my surprise he also said that I must have received the information from a lady, who, he told me, was his brothers wife. His said that the jewellery may be confiscated and even monetary penalty may be imposed on him, but requested that he should not be prosecuted because, if convicted, he would lose his Government job in Australia.In addition, he would face the possibility of divorce from his Australian wife. After looking at his credentials as a doctor, I was convinced that he was a qualified heart surgeon. The fact that I had

received the information from a lady, made me believe his version. He also produced evidence of having applied for permit from the Reserve Bank of India. I, therefore, confined my order to confiscation of the necklace and imposed a penalty of Rs 5,000. I also extended an offer to the doctor for redeeming the jewellery on payment of a fine of Rs 20,000 with the stipulation of taking it back to the town. However, the doctor politely refused the offer saying he would prefer to give this jewellery to the Government rather than to his brothers wife. These two cases taught me that justice should be tempered with mercy, taking into consideration the circumstances and bonafides of each case, instead of being mechanical in applying the law uniformly in all cases.

SHRI DAYA SHANKAR

(21.02.1952 12.08.2012)

Shri Daya Shankar, an IRS (Customs & Central Excise) officer of the 1978 batch breathed his last on 12th August 2012 in Australia, after a prolonged battle with cancer. Shri Daya Shankar, during his stints in Customs and DRI, had taken on the might of the smuggling mafia along the western coast of India. His fearlessness and integrity are legendary in the fraternity of Indian Customs and Central Excise. He was perhaps the only officer of the department to have refused to accept cash rewards sanctioned to him on account of his principles. After a glorious career in the department, he left for a teaching assignment in the Deakin University, Australia. We wish him rest in peace and strength to his family to bear the immense loss.
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38

1965 Indo-Pak War and Indian Customs

N.K. Bajpai
Ex-Member, CESTAT

I was posted as Assistant Collector of Customs in the Calcutta Customs House in July 1965, and was given the charge of Assistant Collector (Outdoor). My area of work was the docks and jetties where ships carrying import-export cargo where docked. Loading and unloading of cargo was generally done under the supervision of the Preventive staff and goods were examined and given out of charge orders by the Appraising staff posted in the docks. A unique challenge arose during the IndoPak war in September 1965. A notification issued under the Defence of India Rules prohibited transit of certain class of goods through Indian ports as same bottom cargo in vessels calling at our ports. These goods were declared as enemy cargo and their transit was prohibited by invoking the provisions of Section 11 of the Customs Act, 1962. A Committee consisting of the Chairman, Calcutta Port Commissioners (then called PCs, later Port Trust), Collector of Customs and the Principal Officer, Mercantile Marine was set up for a examining the home manifests of such vessels and deciding which consignments could be declared as enemy cargo and then offloaded at Calcutta.
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Such consignments were destined for Chittagong and Dhaka ports which were then parts of East Pakistan. It was decided that the Assistant Collector of Customs (Outdoor) would be responsible for ensuring collection of home manifests from the masters of the vessels as soon as they arrived. These manifests contained full details of the cargo in transit carried in the vessels. The Preventive set up of customs in Calcutta was headed by a Preventive Inspector (later designated as Superintendent) and had several Preventive Officers working under him. As part of his normal duties, one of these Officers was required to board the vessel and seal the bonded store and take the declaration of the master. Initially, the masters resisted handing over the home manifests. Once the cargo to be offloaded was identified by the Committee, which met almost daily, the Preventive Inspector had to ensure that it was offloaded before the vessel was given Port Clearance permitting it to leave the port. It was decided that though the Port Clearance would be signed by Assistant Collector (Exports), it would not be handed over without the permission of Assistant Collector (Outdoor). The Customs Department was made responsible not only for ensuring offloading
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but also for accounting, transportation and custody of the enemy cargo during the period of its detention in Calcutta. The facilities of PCs in the docks were extended to the customs and we had to utilize our Preventive staff for the entire activity. This created dayto-day problems in dealing with the masters, steamer agents and the PCs. After the cessation of hostilities, the Government of India decided to release the offloaded cargo and then started the process of meetings with Trade Commissioners, and other Diplomatic Officers of the country of origin of the cargo. These authorities booked shipping space and wanted shipment of the cargo to its destination in the vessels calling at Calcutta Port at the first available opportunity. After we had sorted out these problems, the clearing agent who was engaged in transportation and unloading of the cargo to the temporary warehouse assigned to the customs, submitted a bill of over Rs 50,000, which the Collector, Shri M.G. Abrol, directed to be scrutinized carefully. After detailed enquiries, we scaled it down to Rs 35,000 with a word of caution that we must leave no scope for any allegation that we had overpaid the clearing agent. I must say that the handling of the matter brought an altogether a new experience to me in my daily interaction with Shri Abrol with whom I worked later as Under Secretary and had occasion to discuss with him numerous issues of Indo-Nepal trade and transit during the negotiation of the 1971 Treaty.
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I can recall an incident with some pride as a young officer. We had a tough Preventive Inspector, Shri S.K. Sen II, who was a very loyal officer and would fully carry out orders of his superiors and would frequently refer to any problems that arose. One night, when a vessel docked, initially the master was not willing to handover the home manifest and S.K. Sen had to threaten him to comply otherwise he would be arrested. On another occasion there was difficulty in unloading a consignment which was stacked lower down in the hatch on which was kept cargo of over 300 tonnes and the consignment could not have been offloaded without unloading the cargo on top. This would have resulted in detaining the vessel for several days and led to payment of large sum to the PCs. The master represented that the vessel be allowed to leave without unloading the consignment buried below. When the matter was reported to me, I asked the Preventive Inspector to verify the fact by visiting the hatches and upon his report, decided to let the vessel leave the port. My decision was instantly approved by the Collector next morning when the facts were reported to him. During that time, one of the Preventive Inspectors who worked with me was Leslie Claudius, who was captain of Indias Hockey team in the Rome Olympics in 1960. His son was an equally brilliant hockey player who later died in a motorcycle accident.
July 2012

From Liz Taylor to Captain Taylor

T. V. Sairam
Ex-Member, Sattlement Commission, Customs & Central Excise

Liz Taylor could be a popular figure among the customwalas as her janampatri and vital statistics are widely publicised. But how many of us could have a chance to know the less popular Captain T I Taylor who was live and kicking in the first half of the 19th century and who is now dead and buried as the then Secretary for Revision of the Customs and Post Office Departments having left behind an agglomeration of OMs, DOs and orders in the sands of time? I ventured into the arena of the National Archives of India on a cool December day to find out the customs of the Customs Department in the good old British Raj. The building in a red sandstone facade reminded me of a huge treasure box that could cause dubiety in the mind of any DRI-wala. Getting into the Library itself was something like a migration formality in a developed country. Declarations were made and the green signal was shown. The digging commenced. Ledgers and ledgers of soporific and yawn-inviting hardbound volumes reminded me my probationary days when you for the first time struggle with the adipose and unwieldy appraising manuals of the Bombay Custom House right in front of the Examiner! A casual glance acquainted me with the Captain I was talking about. The prolific instructions of the Captain to the personalities of his time such as Secretary
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to the Government of India (General Department), Chief Secretary to the Government of Madras, Secretary to the Government of Agra, PMG of Calcutta, Collectors of Sea Customs, Madras and Bombay, etc., were dug up. Some of the iIluminaries who still shine today, safely sandwiched between the archival papads are: Dr. Ronken, Deputy Post Master, Delhi who was also the surgeon to Governor General. (Had he remained a little absentminded he could have parcelled off the Governor General to England or elsewhere while needling with his dak!); G.H. Smith Esq., Collector of Government Customs Delhi (Was there any private customs too?). G. Blunt Esq., Deputy Collector of Customs, Agra (about whom the less said could be the better!), etc. Like todays customwala the 1830 officers also had a stiff upper lip when they came across not Video, 2-in-l, Stereo and the like, but angur, betel leaves, plums, potatoes and yams. They became allergic to these contraband items! Coming back to Captain Taylors writings, we not only find him prolific in gobbledy gook but also a master in the art of officialese. He changes his lingo in accordance with the persons to whom he addresses his letters. He begins with Sir, Gentlemen, My Dear Sir and ends with I have the honour to be, I
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have etc., Your most obedient and humble servant. Believe me, Yours faithfully, etc. (our careerists to note!) Taylor was not only prompt in his Committees work but also in expediting his contingency bills. A sample letter dated 2612-1831 contains 24 bills; the items purchased are wax candles for a rupee and six annas; oil for six annas and six paise (for burning at midnight?). There is also a bill of one Mr. Speed for two rupees and five annas and the service rendered is not recorded. A Mr. Arson had spent eighty six rupees and eight annas for extra writing!

Another personality whom we encounter in the archives caves is one Panchanan Banerjee (I somehow imagine that his face resembled that of our Hindi Film comedian Kesto Mukherjee). Banerjee had sent complaints to the Captain against the local PMG. Captain was prompt in turning down these complaints with the observation that his Committee had no authority to interfere with the executive duties of the PMG. The outcome of the Captains Committee was not traceable in the Archives. But one thing is sure: it must have paved way for a huge collection of reports of archival importance.

KULVINDER SINGH - A TRIBUTE BY SHRI R K MAHAJAN

It came as a rude shock when I came to know that one of the finest players of our country Mr. Kulwinder Pal Singh (lovingly known as Kullu) is no more. His brother rang me up at around 11.30 AM to give me this news. I reconfirmed from him as just last night we have played a few games of Badminton and left the Court around 8.30 PM. This was really hard to believe. As I have known him, he was a very soft spoken person but firm and fully devoted player. The way his acquaintances spoke to him, I found him to be drawing respect from all whether he was National Level Coach or International Player or Junior Player or Coach of a Club. It is a rare phenomenon- a total non-controversial person. I could gauge his sincerity towards badminton in a short span of a month or so. He was quite keen to open an affordable Academy for the game so that the right talents could come up and could bring laurels for our country. He was equally sincere towards his duties as Superintendent of our Department. The Department seems to have already immortalized him by putting him one of the Officers saluting the Nation on the cover of the film, "Central Excise : An Engine of Economic Growth", and other advertisements. May his soul rest in peace. May God give courage to all his family members to face and come out of this grim situation.
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The Great Customs Hedge of India

A. S. Sidhu
D.G.(C.E.I) Retd.

There grew up gradually a monstrous system to which it would be almost impossible to find a parallel in any tolerably civilised country John and Richard Strachey The Finances and Public Works in India The East India Company was founded as a commercial enterprises in 1600 under a Royal charter from Queen Elizabeth-I. Various charters in the 17th century gave the Company extraordinary privileges to further trade in the east. It had power to mint money and had legal jurisdiction over its employees. Most important, it could raise its own army and navy and could make a war or peace with nonChristian states. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that the Company began to have major ambitions that eventually resulted in its ruling India and imposing taxes. When Clive defeated the Nawab, he put his puppet Mir Jaffar, one of the Nobles on the throne. In return he received from the traitor Rs 23,40,000, an annual rent of Rs 3,00,000 and a Private Estate. This was given to Clive personally and Rs 50,00,000 a year in silver paid to the Company. His riches attracted a great adverse comment in England, and although he was found guilty, the House of Commons pardoned him. In 1774, at the age of 49, he cut his own throat and was buried in an unmarked grave in America.
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Warren Hastings was appointed in 1772 by to control the affairs of the Company in Bengal. Later on, he was given the title of Governor-General. He made number of changes in the administrative control of salt. Over the period, the Company gained control over a large area of India. A law of 1803 provided for establishment of the Customs House. The Collector in charge had power to establish chowkies (Customs posts) in his area. Customs House was established in Calcutta at Strand Road. Naming of the road in front of a Customs House was important because British Customs House in London was on Strand Road. These rowannah chowkies (named for rowannahs or passes) used to certify that the duty had been paid. These chowkies were supplemented by preventive chowkies to prevent smuggling and non-payments of duties. Officers were given incentive and reward. Time progressed and the British gained control over an even larger area. To prevent smuggling and leakage of
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revenue, British devised a very novel system as deterrent. In 1823, Collector of Customs, George Saunders, suggested a new defence line linking the Customs Posts with trade route along with Yamuna River as the earlier Customs Posts were haphazardly located. This linkage developed into a great Customs Line. New chowkies were established and were linked with the old chowkies which ultimately resulted into what is called the Imperial Customs Line (See Map at the end). It was established around 1840. It ran from Torvela in the north of what is now Pakistan, down to east of Bank of River Indus to Multan. From Multan the heavily guarded line began; it was 1,428 miles long. It followed the bank of Sutlej river to the east to Fazilkha in Punjab (in India). From there, it ran keeping west of Delhi, following the river Yamuna to Agra. It then turned to south to Jhansi, Sagar, Hoshangabad and Khandawa before terminating on the present day border between Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra just south Burhanpur. The Customs Line, however, continued east, almost to the sea for another 494 miles. On this last leg of Customs Line, administrative control was not very severe as the smuggling was minimal. The Great Customs Line, the Great Hedge of India was also known as Parmat Lain In Hindi, which means permit line as the duty was paid here and permit was issued. The Customs Line was built with systematically and carefully grown trees and bushes depending upon the climate and soil
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of the area. The trees included Tamarind, Nagfani, draft Indian Plum, Babool and thorny bushes, etc. Hedge in some tracts was about eight feet in height and five feet thick whereas in other places it was 12 feet in height and 14 feet wide at the bottom. The Great Hedge of India was also known as Imperial Customs Line. Allan Octavian Hume, Collector of Inland Customs, in one of his report mentioned: In populated parts of the country, where smuggling is rife, The men are active in preventing the passage of contraband goods by a barrier which, in its most perfect form is utterly, impassable to man or beast and all the outlets through which are guarded No one who has not taken in hand the cultivation of a thousand miles of live hedge ...... can form any conception of the Herculean labour this involves. Officers posted on the Customs Line patrolled at night in a section allotted to them, on foot, camels and even horses, to apprehend smugglers. A Customs Line Officer was responsible for a beat often to 30 miles. For each beat, there was a logbook hanging on a pole called khamba. As the Britishers could not pronounce khamba, they pronounced it as kham and the logbook therefore came to be known as Kham book. Patrolling officer had to sign the Kham book as proof that they have done preventive duty up to the kham, or the Pole. The patrolling officer had to highly active on duty and
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indifferent to sun and wind and weather. He might get a visit from his Collector or his deputies perhaps three times in a year. He was miles away from any town. He was advised not to fraternise with his subordinate or villagers. Senior officers were invariably British and subordinate men of the Inland Customs Department were recruited from area other than where they were stationed. Until 1886, Customs men had to live alone on the line without their wives and families. It was thought that men will quarrel about their women and would meddle with each other wives and would always be with their families instead on the Line. As a result, many took Line wives, whose antecedent in number of cases was anything but respectable. Such cases were severely dealt with. A new dimension was added after the British gained control over India and supremacy over the native rulers. As for them interest of revenue was supreme, agreements were signed with the native rulers. For Sambhar Salt Lake they entered an agreement with ruler of Jaipur and Jodhpur for Rs 7,00,000. An Agreement was concluded by H O Hume, Collector of Customs. Another Collector, G H M Batten, made all efforts to improve the Hedge so that it remained impregnable. The last Collector to control the Hedge was W S Halsey. His reports give a full description of the Hedge at that time. It was then at its greatest extent.
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He also announced termination of the Hedge in his last report. Imperial Customs Line required 136 officers, 2,499 petty officers, and 11,288 sepoys and camel riders. W S Halsey in one of his reports mentions the casualty for each grade. In total, 115 men had died, 276 had been dismissed, 30 had deserted when on duty, 360 had failed to rejoin after leave and 23 were removed as they were found unfit. H O Hume, Collector of Customs, in one of his report in 1868 said that 194 smugglers had paid fine and 1,916 were sent to the prison. Even then there was smuggling. The modus operandi: A strong sapling with lateral branches chopped off some few inches from the stem, is rested in a dark night against the Hedge; and up this, as up a ladder, the smugglers climbs the pole; as he mounts, pressing further and further in at the thin top of the hedge, so that at the top he may chance to be able to jump clear on the other side, of course leading to a tell tale pole behind him....A stout pole is furnished at top with four curved prongs, forming, as it were, the skeleton of a rather deep cup, in which a bag of salt is placed, and, by jerk of the pole, sent flying over the hedge to be picked up in due course by some accomplice waiting on the other side. Of all the officers, H O Hume was an extraordinary man. He followed his father into the East India Company. In addition to the Customs duties he was passionately
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interested in birds. The Great Customs Hedge offered him opportunities to enlarge his collection of specimen. He appointed young men fond of sports and who could do their work as well; if not better with gun in hand at least were eager to help. He left his collection of 63,000 birds and 15,500 eggs to the Natural History Museum in London. He received official praise for his work in making the Customs Line so effective. On promotion, he headed the Department of Revenue, Agriculture and Commerce. He was transferred to the Board of Revenue. When he retired from the Civil Services in 1882, he decided to stay in India and became friendly with Indians and wanted that they should have more say in how their country was governed. He founded Indian National Congress whose first meeting was held in 1885. He became the first General-Secretary of the Congress. He dominated the Congress for more than 15 years. In those days, our Collectors were from the Indian Civil Services. His full designation, as printed on the letter-head, was Collector of Salt Revenue, Collector of Land Customs, Collector of Customs Continental Ports, Conservator of Ports, Chairman, Landing and Wharfage Fees Committee and Superintendent of Light Houses. After the Central Excises and Salt Act 1944, was passed, the designation Collector of Central Excise was also added to the long list.

Although not the part of the Great Customs Line as above, there were also other two Customs Lines, Goa Frontier Line and Customs Road in Gujarat. The Goa Frontier Line passed for a major part through the dense jungle of Western Ghats and had headquarters at Castle Rock, whereas Customs Road was from Palanpur, Deesa to Kandla. On that road to Kandla, there is a diversion on the western side which even today it is called the Customs Road. There is a stone indicating Customs Road. On this road, as on all Customs Lines, preventive duties were performed. There was a very famous Customs division headed by an Assistant Collector. Division was located at Suigam; the office is still there headed by a Superintendent of Customs. I visited the office when I was posted as Collector of Customs Preventive at Ahmedabad. While going in car to Suigam, the driver slowed down. When I asked him why, he informed that boys grazing the cows are coming on the road to say Customs Salam to the Collector. Another incident is also worth narrating which was told to me by an old sepoy. I noticed that all over the floor of the office there were small holes. The sepoy explained that wife of an Anglo Indian Assistant Collector came to Suigam during summer vacation. As she was wearing high heel sandals, she slipped on the floor. Therefore, sepoys at that time were asked to make small holes on the floor to prevent another fall.

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46

July 2012

When I faced British Bullets and went to a jail

Daya Sagar
Director O&M, Services (Retd.)

FACING BULLETS After having passed my Intermediate examination I enrolled at Allahabad University in July 1939 and was a resident at Mair Hostel (now Dr. Amar Nath Jha Hostel). The incident I am going to describe here occurred same-time in August, 1942. Mahatma Gandhi had given his famous Quit India call, after the failure of Cripps Mission, that had galvanised the whole nation and had resulted in widespread demonstration from one end of the country to the other, mostly in the form of peaceful processions, but there were also some sporadic reports of mobs in deluging in violent acts and reprisals by the police. All leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Sardar Patel and Maulana Abdul Kalam had been arrested and imprisoned. There were peaceful demonstrations in Allahabad, but teaching in the University had been suspended and the university had been closed sine die, (but the hostels had not been closed). One afternoon after lunch some of the residents, including me, were sitting in the verandah talking about the conditions in the country when we heard gunshots and on impulse without any thought, some of us(I member G.C. Chaturvedi, who was senior to me by one year and who later joined the V.P. Civil Service and later was appointed to the Indian Administrative Service, Surya Shankar
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Chandra Nagar who later joined the Imperial Bank of India (from State Bank of India) was also my senior and Haresh Bijawat and myself and some offers) starting running in the direction from where the gunshots were heard, and soon reached the kolwali, City Police Station, where a crowd had gathered, we pushed through to the front and were conponted by members of armed constabulary with guns ready to fire. The officer-in-charge shouted for the crowd to disperse and when it did not, he ordered the constables to open fire. There was a volley of shots but luckily there were no fatatality, though some persons were injured, a pellet passed through Bijawats sirt sleeve grassing his arm but apart from that rune of us, chutervedi and offers suffer any injury. There were no further shots and after sometime the crowd dispersed and small groups therefore began moving towards civil lines shouting slogans, buy we returned to our hostel, except Bijawat who went along with the crowd. I GO TO A JAIL Soon thereafter the hostelers were directed to vacate the hostels and I travelled to my hometownDehradun. After I had been therefor sometimes, I learn that a distant relation of my father, Din Dayal Shastri, whom we children addressed as uncle and with & whom I had gone hiking from Mussorie to
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Chakrata had been arrested and lodged in Saharanpur Central Jail (it was from that I had inspiration to use khadi) a distance of about 42 miles from Dehra Dun. So, one day I told my father that I would like to visit Shastri ji in Jail. My father having had no objection to the my proposal, I took a bus to Saharanpur and went tot he central jail. where i requested the authorities to be permitted to meet Shastri ji. I may add that he was a very respected figure in Haridwar, Roorkee and Saharanpur and later he represented that area in V.P.l Legislative assembly after independence and was appointed a Dy. Minister. In the circumstances I was allowed to enter the jail and meet Shastriji. But before I was allowed to enter the gate the authorities stamped my right palm with the jail real a routine to ensure that it was the visitor only who existed the jail after the meeting. I would like to add here that later, in 1955 when I was in lorra City in U.S.A. while on leave from the Central Excise department, I managed to visit a nearly prison with a professor at State University of Iowa, (when I had enrolled in M.A.) to study the conditions in U.S.A. prisons vis-a-vis prisons in India. I did not notice much difference in the conditions then prevailing at jails in both countries then, both had ample open space for the in mates to move about, and yes there were solating cells but there were not a me misprision. Though at present there is very much over crowding particularly in U.S. Prisons (as reported in newspapers now), on the other hand on article in New York Times was all praise for the Delhi Tihar Jail. I JOIN THE DEPARTMENT. CENTRAL EXCISE

reopening and teaching would commence and I returned to Allahabad as advised therein. It was, I think, in October that one day I came across a notice in the newspaper, that was to change the course of life, inviting applications fro the port of Superintend in the excise department at Calcutta. The minimum educational qualification required fro the port was B.A./B.Sc. (Hons.), without giving much thought I filled up the application form and went with the same to see the ViceChancellor, Dr. Amara Nath Jha, who also was the Warden of my hostel, Muir Hostel. After going through the application he write unit RECOMMENDED under his signature and the official real of the V.C. Soon after I received a letter directing me to present myself before a selection board in the Custom House Building on the strand at Calcutta. Accordingly I travelled to Calcutta and on the appointed day went to the custom House. I may mention here incidentally, that the main mode of transport in three days in Calcutta were, besides a horse drawn buggy, but and human draw rickshaws. There were a large number of candidates, most of them wearing two piece suits and neck tie. There was another young man in a khaki coat and a baggy sort of pant same a tie, who I later learn was Bhava Nath Vajpeyi and who became in later life a very good friends of mine. There was an orderly in a long red coat with a waist band a golden embroider dash and are cap who was announcing the names of the candidates as and when they were called for interview. When my name was called I went in and took my seat. The interview was being conducted by Rai Bahadur Shiv Charan Das,
48 July 2012

Soon the conditions in the country more or less stalled and then we learnt through the newspaper that the Allahabad University was
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Rai Bahadur D.N. Mookherjee, Mr. Daly and R.N. Misra. At the outset I was asked to produce for their inspection the degree awarded for having passed the B.Sc. (Hons.) examination, as indicated in my application. I had not brought the same with me, but as it happened I had in my Bachkan pocket the Queen Empress Vicclnia Gold Medal awarded to me for securing first position in not only my subject chemistry but the entire Hons School comprising mathematics, physics, botany & Zoology and chemistry, which I took out and placed before them. Needless to say, all the members examined it and were duly impressed. After a few questions by Mr. Daly about my hometown Dehradun and how if I ever visited Mussorie. He hill station about 15 miles or so away. I told him that I used to go to Mussorie occasionally in winter to see the snowfall, part of distance by bus and partly trekking the remaining distance of about 7 miles in the hills. Then came a question from Mr. Misra related to my field of study-chemistry. He however it appeared was not satisfied by my answer and said clearly so on my standing my ground he again expressed his view adding that he had studied the particular subject with Dr. Dutt (professor of organic chemistry at Allahabad University) and such he was in a position to know the correct position. By now I was rather annoyed at my knowledge of the subject being questioned by somebody and so I shot back that I was presently studying for M.Sc. (Organic Chemistry) and Dr. Dutt was one of my professor and as such I should know what I was saying. (Strong headed ness or foolishness on my part, call it whatever). In any case there were no more questions
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and after some deliberation among the members the presiding officer said that as I was studying for M.Sc. and looking at my age. I could complete my M.Sc. and looking at my age. I could complete my M.Sc. and take another chance next year and this year there were some candidates who would he average next year and they would like to select them this year for the post. It appeared to me in retrospect, that they had already made up their mind regarding the relation. Those who were selected (as I learnt later) included the son-in-law of B.B.D.N. Mookherjee, one M.C. Das ( a minority candidate), one A.K.A. Karim, who went over to Pakistan in 1947, and an other who was son of a Singh standing U.P. Government official. As I exited the Board room I made no secret of my feelings and I said that every one could hear that one of the Board members had dared to question my knowledge of my subject-chemistry, not knowing at that to me that vajpye-one of the candidateswas the nephew of Mr. Misra and had repeated to him what I had said about him after the interview. I returned to Allahabad after spending a couple of days in Calcutta and plunged headling in my studies and in due course wrote my M.Sc. exam. During summer holidays I went up to Mussorie for a day. Dr. Jha had a paternal house there (his father was Mehamahopadhyay Dr. Sir Ganga Nath Jha) and he used to so join there during the summer break, as such I went to call upon him when he told me that he had awarded me a research scholarship to work for a Ph.D. (till then the result of my M.Sc. examination had not been declared). Thus July, 1943 found me again at Allahabad where I enrolled for Ph.D. degree
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in Organic Chemistry under the guidance of Dr. Barra Kartar Singh, the then Head of Chemistry department. My subject for research was gloried constitution of oils and fets. Sometimes in March, 1944 I received a better from the office of the collector, Central Excise, Allahabad to the effect that I had been appointed Deputy Superintendent, Central Excise and posted at the Collectrate headquarters in the Intelligence Branch. Next morning Bharanath Vajpayee, who had also been appointed Dy. Supdt. and posted in the Int. Br. at the headquarters come to see me. He showed me a letter that his uncle, Mr. Misra, had written that contained lots of advice as to how to deport in government service and at the end it said that if Days Sagar was the same person who had been annoyed with him (Mr. Misra) then the advice in his letter was him (Daya Sagar) also and that he should show me this letter! Next morning I went to see Mr. Jha, the V.C. to seek his advice in the matter and showed him the appointment letter. I was taken aback from his reply after the had perused the letter. What he said was something like that there was no question of any advice on his part and as I had applied for the port I may as weel join now. It appeared to me that somehow he felt that I has applied for the present post without his knowledge. I fried to explain that I had applied sometimes back with his knowledge and the present offer from the Central Excise Department was in response to that application. However i some how got the feeling that he was not-prepared to accept my explanation, which upset me and so I bid him good bye and walked out of his liabrary. Next morning I resigned my research post
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and submitted my joining report to the Collactor's office on 9, Sir Tej Bahardur Sapru Road. If I had not resigned my scholarship and continued with my research. I was sure to be appointed a lecturer in Chemistry department so over or later and due course of time my have ended at least as a Vice-Chancellor in some University, but that had not to Destiny one may call it or accident of life? A litter digressior here. I have mentioned above that one of successful candidates during the 1942 interview at Calcutta was M.C. Das. He and I, had become very good friends during service. In 1960 he used in sit in the building there know as Bombay Mutual Building on Parliament Street and I was in North Block. Whenever he used to visit North Block he could in variably meet with me. Once he had give to Chochin on some official work. During that period one morning we read in the newspaper that an Indian Airlines plane had caroled which preparing to land. Later with day me learnt that Mahesh Das was on that plane. It was reported that he was returning to Delhi via Madras where he was to board the Delhi alongwith he local collector who was a lady, but I forget her name now. Due to some traffic jam on way they were delayed and the airport authorities decided to let the plane take off without them. But as the door of the plane was being closed. Here two reached the airport, the plane was held back and Das and his companion boarded the plane. Certainly if there were ordinary passengers they the plane would have taken of without them, but as they were senior customs offices they could board the plane. And the it crashed at Palam Destiny fate or just accident?
July 2012

Siezure of Silver at Daman/Marwad Coast-1982

T.H.K. Ghauri
Commissioner (Retd.)

Smuggling is defined in the Custom Act, 1962 (Sec. 2(39) as in relation to any goods means an act or omission which will render such goods liable to confiscation under Sec. 111 or Sec. 113 (of the Act). In its broader sense smuggling means, bringing into India, or taking out of India any goods in contravention of any law of the time in force. It refers to both an act of omission or commission. More so, it is an act of deliberate

commission, with a view to evade payment of duty due thereon. Smuggling as a trade or craft is as old as levy of customs duties. Since levy of Customs duties is as old as 3rd century BC as it finds mention in Kautaliyas Arthshastra, it can safely be assumed that smuggling is an ancient craft, as not many people were ever willing payer of Customs duties. Given a chance, even a well-to-do person will not feel shy to hoodwink a

Siezed Silver Bricks at Daman, Marwad Coast ICE Quarterly 51 July 2012

Customs Officer, at the Airport land custom station or wherever possible. The smuggling scene in India predates the British period. At that time Goa, Daman and Diu were under Portuguese rule. There was no demarcated border between, say modern Gujarat state and Daman and Diu. Actually Daman is the scene of this actual story. Even during those days, many foreign goods, specially cloth and liquor were smuggled across the land frontier. This tradition continued even after Independence and liberation of Goa. To put the issue in proper perspective, I quote Shri A.K. Pande, former Member CBEC, who in his book Gril that Defied Odds, has noted: Smuggling of gold, watches some other consumer items was at its peak during the eighteen (and even before sic). While the entire coast line of India from Kutch to Calcutta was vulnerable to smuggling, the western coast of India was considerably more so, specially the coast of Gujarat and Maharashtra. The most important reason for this was the proximity of this coast to the flourishing Gulf ports, particularly the free port of Dubai, the biggest of them. The trading between the western coast of India and the Gulf countries has been going on for centuries, thus, the switch over from trade to smuggling was easy. It was natural that some of the biggest smugglers came from these two states. The two states with number of large cities and good connectivity to the rest of the country, could receive and disperse unlimited quantities of contraband goods. It was no wonder that the people like Haji
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Mastan, Vardrajan Mudaliar and Yusuf Patel from Bombay; and Sutur Naran Bakhia, Bhana Khalpa and Lallu Jogi from Daman were the kingpins of smuggling before 1975. The smuggling scene remained much the same after 1975 and Daman emerged as one of the main smuggling dens in the country after a brief cull during emergency. The favourite items for smuggling remained gold and electronic luxury goods. However, during 80s there was a major change in the pattern of smuggling when silver prices in international market started increasing and huge quantity of silver was being seized during this period. Silver is one of the notified goods whose movement within 50 km of the coast in restricted. The gold and other goods, however continued to be smuggled. During early 80s, I was posted as Assistant Collector (as it was then known) Customs, Bulsar division in Gujarat, which had jurisdictional control over Daman, then port Union Territory Goa, Daman & Diu. Being a hot bed of smuggling, we were always on high alert. Along with some of my officers, I had also developed a good network of informers in that area. It was sometimes in September 1982, that one of my trusted informers told me that notorious smuggler Lallu Jogi is likely to bring in huge quantity of luxury goods from Dubai and smuggle out an equally huge quantity of silver in return. For the benefit of younger officers, who joined Service during last two decades or so and who are not aware of the type of smuggling scene that older generation of officers faced, I will like to explain certain
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basic facts. Apart from smuggling through Air (Baggage/Cargo) or across land borders (India-Nepal/India- Pak, etc.) the bulk of smuggling took place through sea. Smugglers used a type of boat called Dhow, fitted with a marine engine, for carrying out their trade. The gold was usually smuggled concealed in a secret cavity in the boat, but bulk items like electronic goods, cloth etc. were brought openly kept in the boat. It generally took five days for a boat to reach Dubai and five days to return. Keeping one day for loading etc., it took eleven days to complete the journey. Now, back to my story. My informer told me about the night the transaction was scheduled to be done. I through that it would be better if I keep my boss, Shri B.V. Kumar, Collector, Customs, Ahmedabad, in the picture. He was very excited at this information and wished to join the operation personally. We knew that smugglers used Citizen band walkie-talkies for communication with the incoming boat. On the day of operation, I deputed my Communication Officers with a walkie-talkie for interception and a wirelessset for communication with HQ, at a nearby village in total secrecy. In the meantime, Shri Kumar, with the then DDRI-Surat, Shri S.S. Sekhon (who has retired as MemberCESTAT), had reached my residence at Bulsar. Taking into account the tide time we left for Daman at about 11.30 at night. There is a railway crossing at Vapi (about 10 km from Daman) and we knew that smugglers kept watch for Customs at this point. I was also having a walkie-talkie with me. After passing through this point, I got a message from my interceptor that Call on
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smugglers walkie-talkie had started. I told my boss that we should hide ourselves at this point, and accordingly we all entered a wadi (mango orchard). Immediately thereafter, I heard on our walkie-talkie somebody informing Mamu avi gayo (in code: Customs have come). They were asked to look for us. But not finding us anywhere, it was announced that, They have perhaps gone towards Moti Daman (other part of Daman across the creek). Now, we could also hear someone calling the incoming boat Papiha bol, Papiha bol. But there was no answer from other side. We had also kept our interceptor boats ready at Umbargaon, our marine station. I felt that perhaps the incoming boat has been delayed and as it was almost time for tide to turn, we should return back and await further information. It was also clear from their talk that consignment of silver was already in the sea, waiting for exchange. But boss ordered that we should more our fast boat to patrol Daman coast, which I did rather reluctantly. Later on, I was told that the walkie-talkie on incoming boat had failed, and our boat did see the boat from a distance. However, on seeing customs boat, it sped away back. A chase was given but as the distance was huge, it managed to speed away in the cover of darkness. By this time it was dawn, and I again suggested that we should return back silently and await further information from my informer. But the boss ordered that let us raid wadi of Lallu Jogi (which I knew was his headquarter). We did enter the wadi (a huge coconut orchard) and found Lallu Jogi and several cars parked there. On seeing the
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Collector and other top brass there, I could see that Lallu got the fright of his life. We searched the entire wadi and farmhouse, but naturally did not find anything there. At one point, Shri Sekhon, who had earlier worked at Bombay DRI, pointed towards a Fiat Car, and told me it was personal vehicle of Dawood, thereby indicating he was present there at night and had run away on foot seeing Customs entering the wadi. An interesting dialogue took place between Shri Kumar and Lallu Jogi. Shri Kumar asked, huri- tum raat bhar nahi soya, kya karte tha. Lallu replied, Sahab, aap nahi soye to main kaise so sakta tha. We returned back empty-handed, quite rejected at the turn of events. Later in the day, my informer quietly contacted me and told that because contact could not be established with the incoming boat, the landing could not take place. However, the silver meant for export, is dumped in the sea somewhere, and he will contact me the moment he comes to know about its location. I immediately took precaution of total nakabandi of Marwar coast, by constant road and sea patrolling, so that the silver which was dumped in the sea could not be removed by the smugglers. After three-four days, the informer came to my house at about 11.30 in the night, and gave me exact location in the sea where the said consignment of silver was dumped in the sea. It was opposite Lall Jogis bunglow on the coast at about 500 metres in the sea, marked by a yellow buoy and a pink buoy at a short distance. I calculated the tide timing
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as it was possible to reach the spot only during low-tide. In high tide, the silver would be below two metres of sea water. The lowtide was starting next morning at about 7.30 hrs. I immediately started to arrange sufficiently large number of Customs officers, and alerted my Superintendent at Daman to organize police help as Lallu Jogi was known to be a very notorious person, prone to even being violent, unlike other Daman smugglers who were otherwise quite peaceful. Having made all the arrangement, I along with a team of about 40 officers reached the coast early in the morning. Care was also taken to carry sufficient fire-arms with us to deter any mischief from the smugglers. Police contingent also arrived with staff from Daman Customs. We entered the sea, with receding tide. Initially, I had taken off my shoes, but once inside water. I encountered sea corals, which to my discomfort were razor-sharp. I called for my shoes, and put them on to save my feet from injury. We made a long single line of men, and started moving in the sea, feeling the sea-bed with our feet. We were in about waste-deep water, and proceeding cautiously. A large crowd had in the meantime collected on the shore, but I knew that show of arms by us would deter any mischief. The receding tide was helping us. After moving in the sea, we slowly covered a distance of about 500 meters from the coast. There were many buoys in the sea, below which the local fishermen had cast their nets to catch the fish. Suddenly from a distance, I heard a shot being fired. When we turned towards that
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side, I noticed that my Superintendent Dahya Bhai Patel had fired in the air to attract our attention. This man had a knack of locating constrained goods, be they serrated in a cavity in a boat or hidden someplace else. On hearing this signal, we all turned towards that spot; and on reaching there found a huge catch of silver on the sea bed, duly packed in bundles, in strong fishing nets. As indicated by my informer, we located both the coloured buoys. Three hours had already lapsed since start of the operation, and in another three hours, the tide will start to turn. As a precautionaly measure, I ordered our two boats, one each from Umargaon and Bubar to be stationed in the sea right opposite the area of operation. Now the problem facing us was to remove this silver from the sea to the coast. I gave it a serious thought and felt that lifting all pieces of silver (each slab weighing 30 kg) and taking them to coast in one go is not possible. Hence, I decided that the silver slabs will be shifted in such a manner that first they will taken up to a certain distance where the water had totally receded, and dumped there. Another team will lift it from there, and take it further to beat the incoming tidal waters. It was very strenuous task but my entire staff rose to the occasion, and applied themselves to this physical labour, right from Superintendents to Sepoys and khalasis. In the meantime, my driver Shankar Bhai, took the wheels of a jeep and drove it on the empty sea-bed, up to the point where silver was being physically brought. Another driver took the queue and drove another jeep on
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the sea bed. They both had silver loaded on the jeeps and deposited on the coast. I had, by then returned to the coast, leaving shifting of the silver in the charge of my trusted officers. I immediately, took charge and posted armed guards all around to keep crowds away from the scene. Slowly but steadily the task of shifting silver from its hiding place under sea-water was completed successfully. Despite strenuous physical labour, we all felt elated by successfully completing the operation. We called two panchas, and then arranged to shift the silver consignment to local Daman Customs Office in departmental truck to complete the seizure formalities. On reaching the Daman Office, I immediately called Shri Kumar on wireless and gave him the good news. Naturally he was very happy and congratulated us all. The silver slabs were weighed and on the prevailing price at that time, the said consignment of silver was valued at Rs 1 crore, 68 lakh. The silver at that time was priced at about Rs 3,000 per kg. Now the price of silver is above Rs 53,000 per kg. Just imagine what the value of that consignment would be now -- an astronomical figure, isnt it? On completion of the due process, the informer was paid a reward of Rs 9 lakh and all staff members and police personnel who had taken port in the operation were paid handsome reward as per rules. However, at the time Assistant Collectors were not entitled to monetary reward, so I didnt get any money. But I had the supreme satisfaction of doing a job well, and appreciation of my superiors.
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History of Indian Customs and Central Excise Service*

ALOK JHA
Addl. Commissioner, DPPR

In December 1903, the Government of India formulated a scheme to constitute a new Customs Service after obtaining the views of the various maritime Provincial Governments and Chambers of Commerce. The Secretary of State ultimately sanctioned the scheme in 1906. The scheme, according to them, would combine in one Service, under the direct control of the Government of India, the appointment of Collector of Customs at Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, Rangoon, Karachi and Chittagong, the 15 Assistant Collectorships at these ports and the posts of Superintendent of Preventive Service at Calcutta and Bombay. It envisaged three classes of Collectors and five classes of Assistant Collectors. Of the five Collectorships, it was proposed that three should be reserved for members of the Civil Service and the remaining two appointments should ordinarily be held by the members of the Customs Service if suitable incumbents were forthcoming. Of the Assistant Collectorships, one appointment in each of the first three classes would be reserved for members of the Civil Service and it was envisaged that the probationers would provide a sufficient reserve to fill leave vacancies. It was proposed that members of the Civil Service of four or five years standing should ordinarily be selected for the three reserved appointments of Assistant Collectors and that they would be required to remain in the Department for four years. It was intended that the remaining Assistant Collectors would be recruited ordinarily from the United Kingdom. Each man was to be treated as a probationer for the first year of his service and he would learn his work at Calcutta or Bombay. At the end of the year, he would undergo an examination in the vernacular language and in customs and other allied laws and procedure. On passing the examination, he would be invested with certain minor powers and eventually, if well reported on, he would be invested with full powers. He would be liable to transfer from one port to another and would ordinarily be so transferred at suitable intervals in order to widen his experience. The scheme as envisaged by the Government of India was circulated to the maritime State Governments for eliciting their views and those of the Chambers of Commerce. This was in December 1903. The draft resolution constituting the new Service was approved by Lord Minto on the 7th of January, 1906. The Imperial Customs Service actually came into being with the passing of the Government of Indias Resolution No. 154-161-57 dated the 9th of January, 1906. The first probationer in the Indian Customs Service, Mr. W.W. Nind, arrived in India on the 7th of February, 1906 and was Posted at the Rangoon Custom House.

* This article is based on the articles published in earlier issues of ICE Quarterly on the same subject by Shri M.V.N. Rao and Shri S.A. Govindraj, both former Chairman of CBEC.

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The Imperial Customs Service came into effect with a junior scale of Rs. 350-50-1500 (Asst. Collectors), Rs. 2250-100-2750 (Collectors) and a selection grade with a fixed pay of Rs. 3000. These scales were the same as for ICS. Above the filed level, Members of the Central Board of Revenue, and Secretaries were either from Federal Financial Service or Indian Civil Service. The last batch of officers were recruited to this service in the year 1945. Some officers were recruited in the year 1948, (including Ms. S. Venkatesan and C.T.A. Pillai) though perhaps they took the examination prior to Independence. When they were appointed in 1948 the Service was called the Indian Customs Service. The work relating to Central Excise Duty was attended to by different departments, including the Salt department of the Government of India. Central Excise Duties were first levied on manufacturing of salt in the year 1870. In 1894 a duty of Excise was levied on cotton yarn of finer counts. Two years later this was replaced by duty on Indian Mill Woven Cloth. In 1917, duty was levied on Motor spirit, followed by a duty on Kerosene and several other commodities. It was in the year 1944 that steps towards rationalization of Central Excise levies was taken and that their coverage extended, when Central Excise and Salt Act was passed. Excise duties were mainly imposed as a revenue measure on sugar, matches, steel ingots and mechanical lighters. Duty on pneumatic tyre and tube was levied in 1941 and on vegetable products in 1943. In the period prior to 1944 the practice was to have a self-contained piece of legislation, as and when a commodity was subjected to Central Excise duty. Recruitment exclusively for Central Excise at Class II (Now Gr. B) levels and below started in 1943, only after Central Excise duty on unmanufactured tobacco was introduced in 1943. Senior posts in Central Excise Department like Deputy Collectors, was held by officers of the Indian Customs Service Officers. Appraisers and Principal Appraisers (both Class II), were also deputed as Superintendents of Central Excise and Assistant Collectors of Central Excise. (These officers were also deputed to the Import Trade Control Offices). Indian Central Excise Service Class I was constituted in the year 1955 (A.C. Sadhana, I.J. Rao and A.P. Aggarwal were in the first batch of Indian Central Excise Service, in the year 1955). Initially it was proposed to post these officers as Assistant Collectors of Central Excise. However, a new post of Superintendent of Central Excise (Class I) was created, and these officers after training were appointed as Superintendents (Class I). Thus arose a peculiar situation in which the direct recruit officers appointed to the Indian Customs Service were designated as Assistant Collectors of Customs both in junior and Senior Scales, while the candidates appointed to the Indian Central Excise service (Class I) were designated as Superintendents of Central Excise (Class I), in the junior scale and Asstt. Collectors of Central Exicse in the Senior Scale. After some time it was decided to merge these two services namely Indian Customs Service and the newly constituted Indian Central Excise Service. Accordingly, these two services merged with effect from 15.08.59, and the Indian Customs and Central Excise Service (Class I) came into being. It is noteworthy that the new service was brought into effect on the Independence day.
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Customs Departments of the King of Karauli

Sunil Kumar
DCCE, Gurgaon

The Princely State of Karauli in erstwhile Rajputana had an elaborate revenue system. The State issued its own fiscal stamps and papers. The State also had its own Customs Departments. Raj Karauli is a nice document. It is an older version of GAR-7 or TR-6. The Cash Challan is for the princely amount of One Rupee and Five-and-a-Half Annas.

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Maharaja Dharam Pal Yadukul Chandra Bal of Karauli (he was succeeded by his son Ganesh Pal) Another nice challan from Karauli Customs 1940

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Bill of Lading 1868

Sunil Kumar, DCCE, Gurgaon
This nice document is an Export Bill of Lading, dated May 21, 1868. It bears an attractive Queen Victoria Fiscal Revenue Stamp of denomination 4 Annas, which has been stamped with an Embossed Cancel. The document (also referred to in literature as an Export Cargo Manifest) has been prepared for One Box of Books and One Box of Toys. These are to be loaded on the ship called Himalaya, anchored on the Hooghly and due to sail for London. The Volume weight is 50 cubic feet and the freight charges are mentioned as Four Pounds Sterling.

Cutom House Wharf, Calcutta 1893

Sunil Kumar, DCCE, Gurgaon
This nice stamp was issued in 1993 on the occasion of Indian Philatelic Exhibition Index 93. It depicts the scene in the Wharf in 1893. Ship, boats and general activity is clearly visible.

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Introduction of Green Channel at Bombay International Airport

M.S. Kanwal
IRS (Retd.)

While retuming from USA in June-July 1979, Mr. Satish Aggarwal, the then Minister State for Finance, called a meeting in the New Customs House at Bombay (now Mumbai) to discuss ways and means of speeding up Baggage Clearance at our International Airport. Late Mr. Jasjit Singh, the then Chairman CBEC, Member Customs and DRI now (DGRI), attended the meeting. I was then posted as Additional Collector of Customs in the New Customs House and was present during the course of discussions in the meeting. It appeared a delegation of NRIs had met Mr. Satish Aggarwal in New York and complained bitterly of the time taken in clearance of passengers. Those days we did not have X- ray machines at Bombay Airport and baggage of all passengers was opened before clearance, to ascertain the value of dutiable goods and to see if the overall value was within the admissible free baggage allowance. Most International flights landed around midnight at Bombay between 2300 hrs to 0400 hrs one after the other, some days in a bunch causing delay in immigration clearance and in arrival of the baggage on conveyors belts. After heated discussions, neither the DRI, nor Member Customs or the Chairman were
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inclined to consider clearance based on the declaration of the passengers, without opening the baggage on the ground that it may of result in smuggling in the guise of passengers baggage. To our pleasant surprise we found at the end of the night shift that we had actually collected much more duty, compared to the duty collected in the corresponding night shift of the previous week, without taking resort to opening the baggage of any of the passengers. The experiment was repeated for a week in each shift and we continued to collect much more revenue than the corresponding shift of the previous week. The results of the experiment were apparent, which were conveyed by Mr. Dutta to the Chairman. He obtained his formal clearance and that of the MOS with the stipulation that any misuse of the Green Channel would carry heavy penalties. Mr. Sham Nath, the then Mayor of Bombay, formally inaugurated the Green Channel soon thereafter. All leading newspapers of Bombay splashed the news on their front pages next morning. Lo and behold, other Airports like Delhi, Madras and Calcutta soon followed suit, removing one of the major grievances of NRIs, a tribute to the positive and dynamic attitude of Late Mr. J. Dutta.
July 2012

Functioning of the Indian Customs depiction in Warli Style of Painting.

Chittari Vijay Varma
Inspector, C.Excise, Pune III Commissionerate.

Theme: The said painting is inspired by Warli Paintings, which are famous world over. Warli paintings are deep rooted, and originate from a forest Adivasi tribe called Warli, predominantly staying in Thane District of Western Maharashtra in India. The Warli paintings use simple geometric forms like lines, triangle, squares, circles, etc. These paintings are symbolic and represent the very essence of life and its celebration. Traditionally these paintings are made on the mud walls of the houses of Warli tribes during festive occasions, harvest seasons, marriages, etc., using natural materials like red mud (called geru), cow dung, white rice paste, leaves, flowers and tree barks, shrub juices, etc. White rice paste is used to draw human figures with a help of bamboo wood shaped in the form of a pointed pencil, on the base of walls of the houses coloured with red mud. During the harvest season, young women and men celebrate by forming a human chain and dancing in circular motion in a rhythmic manner to the tunes of Tarpa (musical Instrument like a pipe). In the top left corner is the Land Customs Station at Attari, and Wagah Border. Warli Tribe engaged in farming and agricultural activities. Water for daily use is through wells.
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In the top right corner is the Air Customs scene at the Airport, showing the Green Channel and Red Channel. Prevention of smuggling of Wildlife articles is also a major aspect of the Customs. A tiger skin allegedly being smuggled in a box is intervened by the Customs. Important persons, relatives are all there to bless the newly wedded couple, coming from abroad, which is celebrated with great pomp. Along the left hand side is the ocean front being guarded by the Indian Customs through Patrolling. Across the painting is the river flowing in the village, the very life line of any human settlement and water creatures like, fish, water snakes, crabs, etc. Thirsty cattle also quench their thirst here while the tired take some rest. The houses are traditionally made up of bamboo, twigs, leaves, ropes, mud, cow dung, etc. Warli tribes are occupied in the dayto-day activities, like pottery, maintaining the herd of cattle, selling fish, etc. While others maintain palm groves, sell coconut, etc. Some are engaged in hunting and some in protecting the cattle from wild animals while some maintain the bullock carts, the commonly used transport system. Along the river banks is the Customs House looking after the import and export activities. One
July 2012

such commodity is the iron ore being exported out of India, along the Mandovi River in Goa. The design of the Customs House is also inspired by the Old Customs House on the Banks of Mandovi River, in Goa. Lighthouse is also a typical monument seen in any port town. On the bottom right of the canvas is the typical setup of the Inland Container Depot being manned by the Customs Officials. It shows the examination of the Containers, weighing, storage of the goods in the warehouse, etc. Blended with these activities of the Indian Customs is the fabric of typical Warli life, which is indicative of the townships flourishing around port towns, airports, borders, river fronts, ocean fronts, etc.

The theme of Warli paintings has been adopted to make an oil on canvas painting for the purpose of longevity and durability, and spread the message of Functioning of the Indian Customs in Warli style of painting. Shri. Varma is presently working as Inspector with Central Excise and Customs Department, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, in Central Excise, Pune III Commissionerate Office at Pune. Painting on Spiritual themes has been a passion for him. His painting skills and the works have been appreciated and encouraged by the Department. He has been long associated with the setting up of the Indian Customs and Central Excise Museum, Panaji Goa. His e-mail address is: vijayabhishek12@gmail.com.

"Functioning of the Indian Customs"depiction in Warli style (Oil on Canvas, Size 60 50 cm, 02.02.2012 by C. Vijay Varma, Inspr. C. Ex., Pune) ICE Quarterly 63 July 2012

On Turning Fifty (An ODE to myself)

Dr. Kavita Bhatnagar
Addl. Commissioner, Customs, Jaipur

Out of tradition I was born, To govern all, from night to morn. Whether kings or common man, All had to bless me to cross the land.

A rosy infant was I, Brought glory to parents my. I had the glow of gold, And thought would never grow old.

Strong and brave I grew, All around tales of my valour flew. Well guarded were land, air and sea, No pirate could go beyond me.

Like a child clinging to favourite toy, Baggage, currency, goods brought me joy. If I was harsh, it did not matter, My beliefs i could not shatter.

Winds of change then started to blow, To meet the world, Id to mellow. To build the nation, steps many i took, Enhanced trade, got a different look.
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In gatt and wto, allies I found, My Values became more sound. Dogmas I shed and trust I reposed, With liberalization nothing was forced.

My new friend was automation, Together we created sensation. I became transparent and more clear, Not a burden any more to bear.

Less sometimes means more, Expanded has my shore. Not only a land to defend, Ive now bridges to mend.

From near-frankenstein to janus-faced, The change has been slow paced. As I turn fifty, there are promises to keep Still young, I am not meek.

Like the land, water and sky, I cannot die. But i have to tire never And continue my mandate Today, tomorrow and forever.

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Role of Customs in International Relations1

Parthasarathi Shome2 Ladies and Gentlemen, It gives me great pleasure to deliver the inaugural B.N. Banerji Memorial Lecture institutionalized in memory of the first Chairman of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). Todays topic, Role of Customs in International Relations, is appropriate in commemoration, and in celebration, of operations of the institution of customs in India. We should note that, by its very concept, customs is an international institution inasmuch as the duty is imposed on the imports, and sometimes exports, of goods. Its operations are therefore also mainly at the geographical borders of an economy. It thus poses especial issues and challenges that policymakers and officials have to encounter when designing customs tariffs and implementing the customs code. 1. Concept, rationale and objectives of customs Let me begin with the concept of customs duty (CD). The rationale for imposing CD is couched in the need to protect domestic industrytypically infant industriesthat need to be sheltered from aggressive foreign competition that may occur even before domestic units have had adequate time to catch up with foreign competition. Once the economy develops, the argument for continuation of high customs tariffs cannot be easily maintained. Indeed, over the years, they have been inexorably scaled back in India. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has played a significant role in making economies more competitive through scaling back of customs tariffs. The operations of a customs department straddle a wide variety of objectives. First, it collects customs duty. Second, it collects some domestic taxes such as the VAT or GST on imports. Note that these are taxes on domestic consumption. The consumption items can be from domestic or international sources and the tax should be the same irrespective of source. Thus VAT or GST is collected at the customs point on incoming goods. In India this is termed countervailing duty in the sense that it countervailsor equivalizes domestic with foreign sourced consumption items of the population. Note therefore the conceptual difference between customs tariffs and countervailing duty. The implication is that while the tariff structure is scaled back to reflect international agreements and arrangements, the countervailing duty reflects the domestic consumption tax rate. A second operational objective of customs is to minimize smuggling of demerit goods such as cigarettes and alcoholic beverages across borders since these items are usually
1 First B.N. Banerji Memorial Lecture, June 4, 2012. Mr. B.N. Banerji was the first Chairman of the Central Board of Excise and Customs, 1964-67. 2 Director and Chief Executive, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi. I acknowledge the contribution of Sh. Sukumar Mukhopadhyay, Member, CBEC (retired) and Sh. Gautam Ray, Chief Commissioner, Excise and Customs (retired) on Indian customs duty structure and selected case studies. All opinions expressed are, however, mine.

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highly taxed and their tax rates may also vary significantly across borders. Sometimes the same bill of lading may be used across borders by vehicles to transport several loads of the items and customs checks play an important role in keeping such practices to a minimum. Over the last two decades, money laundering and drugs trafficking have also been assigned to customs organizations over and above border patrols belonging to security departments. For meeting these objectives, cooperation among customs departments across the globe has intensified over the years. A third operational objective is the collection of statistics. For future policy making, it is important for any economy to keep account of the flow of goods and services to and from the economy in its international trade relations. Increasingly, trade classification has been finessed over the years into more and more digits. This information has to be meticulously noted and entered, a task that is often assigned to the customs department. The more complex a customs tariff structure isas is the case in Indiathe greater is the challenge on officers to impose and collect the right tariff on the imported good. It is here that moral hazard can pose a problem if a section of the officers become unscrupulous. Leadership in the customs department is crucial in keeping this problem at bay. To combat this problem many countries have simplified the tariff structure, the most extreme simplification being the case of Chile which has only a single tariff. Thus, if more revenue is needed, that rate is increased and, when revenue needs are less, the rate is scaled back. To avoid tracking the import and export of goods and towards the objective of making the customs department exclusively an operational department, in some countries this function has been passed to the official statistics department. Let me address selected issues of a policy, operational and administrative nature that are of relevance to the role of customs in international economic relations. 2. Revenue generation through customs duty in emerging developing economies (EDEs) EDEs, in their nascent period, have depended quite heavily on customs duty not only to protect infant industry but also for a robust source of revenue. However, the revenue growth has reflected the duty structure. Invariably, as duty rates decline, revenue growth tends to get arrested. Of course as a slight caveat, I should note that the lower customs tariff structures negative effect on customs revenue gets countered somewhat as international trade expands as a result of lower duty rates. Revenue growth also reflects the countrys industrial strategy. For example, first, capital goods, intermediate goods and raw materials may need to be taxed at lower rates than final goods. This is because such goods are directly needed in the process of production. Note that, as the share of manufacturing in GDP increases, the share of imports of intermediate goods vis a vis the imports of finished products would tend to increase. This would be the case especially if the growing manufacturing sector is significantly dependent on imported capital and intermediate goods. Thus, if the share of lower-rated
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to higher-rated imports goes up, that would reduce the growth rate of revenues from customs duties. Second, if the manufacturingprivate or public sector, expands while enjoying exemptions from import duties, as is likely to be the case, the share of exempt imports in total imports also grows. Thus, as industrialization progresses, the automatic growth in customs duty revenue tends to decline. Third, as countries promote export oriented growth, more of the commodity taxesboth domestic and importhave to be refunded to export oriented firms because all attempts are made to enable exports to enter international markets competitively, or without any embedded taxes in their prices. Third, in fact, this effect of revenue erosion tends to deepen as duty drawback systems tend to be based not on actual duty paid but on somewhat magnified sector-wide formulae for duty drawbacks that are typically used for administrative convenience. Fourth, discretionary measures also tend to affect the import tax base. Sometimes, customs duty structures shift from ad valorem towards specific rates, in pursuit of greater administrative simplicity. Also, as industries mature, the rates of nominal protection are frequently reduced over time as I already mentioned. Finally, fifth, it is not uncommon to use artificial exchange rates for import duty valuation purposes which further reduces potential revenue. There are, therefore, several factors that stand in the way of a naturally growing revenue base from imports. It is therefore seen in any cross country comparison that, with economic development, the role of customs duty in revenue generation declines while other roles that I mentioned earlier move forward even as domestic consumption taxes and income taxes become the revenue drivers. 3. Changes in customs duty structure: the Indian experience In light of the above discussion, in this section, we review the experience of tariff structure changes in India. a. The context of WTO The WTO has made concerted efforts to facilitate trade through reduction /elimination of tariffs as well as by removal of non tariff barriers. Reflecting the low level of reforms in agricultural tariffs, let us focus on trade in non agricultural products. In the first GATT rounds, tariffs were cut on a selective product-by-product basis through requests and offers made between participants. However, subsequently, countries decided to use formulae to cut tariffs across-the-board. For example, during the Kennedy Round (linear cut formula) and in the Tokyo Round (Swiss formula3), developed countries applied formulae, but with several exceptions. In the Uruguay Round, developing and developed participants negotiated their tariff cuts using a variety of methods to reach a reduction average target comparable to that of the
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Tokyo Round (1/3 cut). In the Doha declarations, the ministers agreed to launch tariffcutting negotiations on all non-agricultural products. The aim was to reduce or, as appropriate, eliminate tariffs, including the reduction or elimination of tariff peaks, high tariffs, and tariff escalation, as well as non-tariff barriers, in particular on products of export interest to developing countries. The chastened reality is that these negotiations are still going on in the absence of consensus. The negotiations on reductions in tariff on non agricultural products are referred to as NAMA (non agricultural market access) negotiations. NAMA refers to all products not covered by the Agreement on Agriculture. In practice, it includes manufacturing products, fuels and mining products, fish and fish products, and forestry products. Over the years, NAMA products have accounted for almost 90% of the world merchandise exports. The Uruguay Round produced significant improvements in market access for NAMA products in developed country markets, as tariff averages were reduced from 6.3% to 3.8%. In the case of developing countries, the most important contribution was made in the form of new tariff bindings. Binding coverage for NAMA products in developing countries increased from 21% to 73%, which has considerably increased the predictability of trade.4 b. Tariff reforms in industrial goods In the mid-1980s, the tariff rates were very high and the structure complex. The governments 1985-86 Long-Term Fiscal Policy (LTFP) emphasized the need to reduce tariffs, apply fewer and more uniform rates, and reduce and eventually eliminate quantitative restrictions on imports. This was applied selectively by rationalising the rates for specific industries such as capital goods, drug intermediates, and electronic goods. However, contrary to the LTFP recommendations, tariffs continued to be raised for revenue reasons, the weighted average rate increasing from 38 percent in 198081 to 87 percent in 198990. By 199091, the tariff structure ranged from 0 to 400 percent. More than 10 percent of imports were subject to tariffs of 120 percent or more. Reflecting the influence of various special interest groups regarding tax policy, wide-ranging exemptions were granted outside the budgetary process, further complicating the system and rendering it ad hoc. The reform of import duties in earnest began in 199192 when all duties on non agricultural goods above 150 percent were reduced to this level. This peak rate was lowered over the next four years to 50 percent, and then to 40 percent in 1997 98, 30 percent in 200203, 25 percent in 200304, 20 percent in 2004-05 (January 2004), 15 percent in 200506, 12.5% in 2006-07 and finally to 10% in 2007-08 . It is important to note that these reductions were not mandated by any WTO requirements as Indias applied rates are considerably below the bound rates. And the duty reductions were made even for unbound items.
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Table 1. Cross-Country Tariff Rates (not including CVD, countervailing duty)5

Country Average (Agr) 31.8 10.3 1.3 10.3 11.3 8.4 10.9 17 9.8 0.2 4.9 Average (Indy) 10.1 12.9 3.0 14.2 2.6 6.6 7.6 13.4 5.7 0 3.3 3.5 Average (All) 13 12.6 2.8 13.7 3.7 6.8 8.0 13.9 6.3 TWA (Agr) 44.2 9.8 2.7 11 11.2 3.4 14.4 9.1 15.7 1.2 4.3 TWA (Indy) 5.1 12.3 4.0 9.9 2.7 2.2 4.3 9.9 3.7 0 2.0 2.1 TWA (All) 6.9 12.2 3.9 10 3.4 2.4 5.1 9.8 5.1 Binding coverage 73.8 100 97.1 100 99.7 95.8 84.3 98.7 67 100

India Argentina Australia Brazil Canada Indonesia Malaysia Pakistan Philippines Singapore United States

Source: WTO world tariff profile 2011. (All figures are in %) Note: i. Average tariff is the simple average of all applied tariff rates at 6 digit level. ii. AgrAgricultural products iii. Indy-Non agricultural products iv. TWA- Trade weighted average or simply the collection rate which is obtained by dividing the total revenue by the total value of imports. Revenue from basic customs duties alone has been taken into account.

Table 1 gives a broad view as to where we stand in terms of tariffs. Collection rate is the ratio of revenue collected (all duties collected at customs including basic duty and CVD) to value of all imports (including exempted imports). Figures available in the Economic Survey include all revenue collected at customs including CVD) which explains the difference in the effective tariff rates in the two tables. Table 2 reveals that the customs duty collection rate has declined from 47% in 1990-91, 31% in 1996-97, 27% in 1997-98 and 23% in 1998-99. The rapid continuing decline in further years is depicted in Table 2. Before we end the observations over collection rate, it must be acknowledged that the decline is not just due to lower tariff rates but also a plethora of exemptions that continue to prevail and are even newly introduced.
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Table 2. India: Change in Effective Tariff Rate (including CVD, countervailing duty)
S.No Commodity group 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Food Products POL Chemicals Man made fibre Paper and newsprint Natural fibres Metals Capital goods Others Non Pol Total 90-91 47 34 92 83 24 20 95 60 20 51 47 05-06 32 6 20 34 9 13 25 13 5 12 10 06-07 23 5 22 28 10 12 24 14 6 12 10 07-08 19 6 22 30 10 13 24 16 6 13 10 08-09 4 3 16 17 8 6 17 13 4 9 7 09-10 3 2 14 22 8 4 17 11 4 8 6 10-11 3 6 17 30 8 5 22 13 4 9 8

Source: Economic Survey 2011-12

4.

Benefits of computerization in customs processes as international practice The use of information technology (IT) is imperative for customs processes. Focusing on Customs and Excise, let me recall my experience at North Block during 2004-08. Two systems integrators were to achieve connectivity of all offices across the country, thereby sharpening tax administration and improving taxpayer services. You are all also aware that already the Indian Customs EDI system or ICEs allows online assessment of import and export documents through electronic data interchange. Thus the document can be filed and assessed by the office through this procedure more easily than earlier. It enables remote control between the customs department and customs agent, so that the custom agent does not have to be physically present in the customs department. Facilitation should also have occurred between the customs department and Reserve Bank of India, the banks and other custodians like the Port Trust and so on. This had functional already in 35 locations and covered about 85 per cent of Indias international trade. Second, the customs e-commerce gateway or ICE gate functioning from 2004 enabled e-filing of import or export goods declarations, filing of manifests by airlines and shipping agents, and exchange of data between customs and agencies such as the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). So you again have all the declarations and filing going through an electronic channel.

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Third, and this is extremely important as an advance in management and practice, clearance of customs drawbacks and refunds should also have been speeded up through a risk management system so that the total time for clearance is diminished to a fraction of what it was a few years ago. The risk management techniques identify suspect cargo on a random basis. Today in a world that requires enhanced security, there may be a need to revisit this kind of system reflecting exogenous factors, though I hope that we will be able to carry out and adhere to the risk management system and reduce processing time even more in the future. Fourth, enhanced computerization is leading to the production of more meaningful statistics and data management so that both on the customs and excise side, the type of data that have been generated can be utilized much better for policy making and for administrative improvements. My question is, is this being done? For example, excise and service tax, apart from customs, depend on a system for excise and revenue monitoring. This enables a buildup of profiles of assessees and an information database of returns of units that are paying Rs. 1 crore or more in tax. During the period I am referring to, about 5000 units or so tended to file electronically. Now, four to five years later, that number should be much larger. Fifth, electronic registration of assessees was also enhanced. I recall that a digital certifying authority enabled electronic transactions using digital signatures. ISAT functioned through five registration authorities in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai within the customs house premises. I would like to be updated on its progress as of date. Thus, looking ahead, the future of the customs, central excise and service tax departments lies in further deepening of computerization following international norms. The best way to convince those officers who still have doubt is not to force it on them but to have intensive workshops to train them and to visualize for them the benefits of IT. There must also be a concerted effort in reducing moral hazard through minimizing interface between officers and customs agents. The benefits of a robust and healthy customs service through rapidly increasing the use of IT has to be convincingly conveyed to officers in growing numbers. This remains the greatest challenge for department heads. I understand that the national data centre is almost completed, it comprises an electronic hardware storage database and facilities management, is linked through a wide area network and local area networks (LAN) in offices across the country. If this is so, I would feel extremely satisfied for the process that we had initiated to have been completed. I would like to end this section on IT to bring to your attention one international example of its benefits. It comes from the role of customs as a monitoring instrument in international trade and flows. In the international arena, customs plays an important monitoring role in
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checking the borders for contraband, smuggling and such other non-tax criminal activities. But they may also be tax related. One such instance is what has been termed the carousel fraud problem in the United Kingdom that was detected through electronic monitoring. It pertained to the VAT that is applicable in the European Union at different country-specific rates. In essence it is the practice of errant taxpayers who collect VAT from those to whom they sell but, instead of passing the tax debit tax credit amount of the authorities, they just pocket it. In fact, it was discovered that the practice is carried out in connivance between the two parties, or, in full knowledge of the buyer who was supposed to have paid VAT to the seller. It was essentially discovered at the customs point as a practice of collusion between an importer (buyer) and exporter (seller)hence the name carousel that was observed by continuous examination of their declared accounts. But essentially it can occur between a domestic buyer and domestic seller as the two colluding parties. The revenue that is not passed on to government can then be shared by the two tax evaders. This is the kind of role that customs officers increasingly take on in developed countries even as their role in collecting revenue from customs tariffs may have diminished as customs tariffs themselves are very low today. 5. Large taxpayer units (LTUs) The quality of tax administration can improve significantly if information on taxes that businesses pay could be considered under one umbrella. Businesses pay corporate income tax, excise, VAT/GST and customs duty. Tax authorities should be able to sit across a business with full information. I understand that, in a pilot experiment in Maharashtra, it has been found that businesses declare different turnover for different taxes. If that is the case then, even at a most rudimentary level, it may be concluded that these taxes should be considered under the same roof so to speak. From a taxpayers point of view , their compliance costs should also decline if they are able to clear all taxes at one point. It is with this objective in mind that 50 countries globally and 20 in Asia have opted for large taxpayer units or LTUs that requires large taxpayers to file all taxes at the same window. In India we initiated the concept in five metropolitan cities, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai where the objective was to link both income tax on one side, and customs central excise and service tax on the other in one unit. One deficiency of the Indian design was to make LTUs optional for large businesses to sign on to, the concern being that large taxpayers should not feel that they were being coerced into joining this mechanism of tax payment at least in the initial stage; and we also wanted to observe whether the administration could stand up to the special challenges that LTU operations were expected to pose. As long as 30 large taxpayers opted to sign onto a LTU in a city, we opened the LTU. But, as we all know, the process was slow. I must note that I felt that there was some resistance also from senior officers who felt that both departments have
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different concerns and objectives. The final outcome of all these views and positions was that the synergy that was expected did not successfully spread equally across LTUs. Looking back, LTUs were going to bring the two departments together in terms of operations, exchange of information through computerization, and offer the same taxpayer facilities. In each city for all large taxpayers as defined, it would enable the large taxpayers to take advantage of a single window facility to pay all taxes in a customer friendly environment. The Bangalore operation was initiated on October 3, 2006, followed slowly by the other four. So many countries have them that, after our initial experience, it is time now to intensify the process and make them compulsory as an institution. Note that in the United Kingdom, for example, the tax administration is organized by Large Business Service (LBS) divided by sector. They are Oil and Gas, Banking, Insurance, Telephone and Telegraph, Autonomous Agencies (municipal corporations, universities and so on), and others. Each department is located in a city and houses specialists in both corporate income tax and VAT in the same department. There is also a trade specialist who is recruited from the private sector for a finite period usually but can also be laterally absorbed into the department later. They are topped by a customer relations manager (CRM) who has the overview of the sector with an overall taxation perspective. Together they have regular consultation meetings with a large business in their sector in a continuous dialogue regarding economic trends, sectoral developments and revenue potential. There is no one-to-one interface in this model. If we can imagine the sectoral departments as one horizontal line, then supporting the line is the stem that comprises functional departments including Legal, Debt, banking, Risk and Intelligence, Knowledge and Analysis and so on. Sectoral departments have to buy staff time from the functional departments for various functions performed. This is how resources get allocated across departments. This T-shaped organization of Her Majestys Revenue and customs (HMRC) was the result of a committee that produced a report entitled, A Review of the Revenue Department (2004) that resulted in the amalgamation of the two departments in 2006 with the type of synergies that I spoke about earlier. Interestingly, therefore, the United Kingdom moved away decidedly from the organization they helped establish in different parts of the globe to one that is sector and function based and has turned out to be more open, transparent and consultation based.6 6. Customs balancing role in international economic relations: selective Indian cases Almost all the functions of customs have international ramifications since by their very nature, customs deals with imports and exports. In turn, these could have political ramifications. Smoother relations in customs formalities and reasonable restrictions in
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clearance of goods and persons foster good political relations. Unduly tight control and harassment of customers and delay in clearance of goods at the point of import or export lead to strains in international relations, both economic and political, apart from the usually discussed rise in business costs. All international commercial transactions are enforced at the border by customs. The commerce department designs the policies on licensing, quantitative restrictions, and subsidy to import or export; but such policies are put into effect by customs at the point of import and export. Thus trade facilitation by a customs administration is a significant consideration in promoting good economic and political relations between two countries, and its absence may prove to be a big impediment in those relations. a. Customs duty structure A high or low customs duty structure not only has an impact on revenue as argued earlier, but it is also an issue in fostering comfortable or tense international economic relations. By raising the customs duty structure very high, import from any country can be effectively blocked. Sometimes it is directed against cheap imports of selected goods from some country against which the indigenous industry cannot compete, which may go well beyond the infant industry argument. Duty on cars in India has been high to protect the car industry. In particular, second hand cars are protected with high duty in addition to receiving protection through licence requirements. High duty on agricultural goods in India also makes agricultural imports unprofitable. And the limit imposed by the WTO in this respect is high enough that has enabled India to keep its duty rates within that limit. Then there was the case of high customs duty on shoes imported by the United States which made export by other countries impracticable. b. Customs administration and exports If export duties are high, the post-tax cost of goods is high and exports become uncompetitive. Duty drawback assumes great importance in such cases. These are usually designed by the commerce department in consonance with the customs department and implemented by the latter. Achieving appropriate design and implementation is a major task in ensuring export competitiveness by removing embedded taxes from exports. Reflecting the complexity of duty drawback, some developing country environments have not been fully cognizant of the need to provide duty drawback or offset for value added tax (VAT) against exports. I have just returned from Myanmar at the invitation of its government from heading the first international tax reform mission there, as the country opens up to international norms and practices. I found that exports do not receive input tax credit or setoff.

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Though customs duty on import components of exports are theoretically given drawback, unless the manufacturing unit is fully export oriented, it is difficult for the business to receive drawback for the portion that is exported reflecting the lack of a formula based on which partial drawback could be given. This is giving rise to tensions among the domestic business community and their international competitors who are being invited to operate in new Special Economic Zones (SEZs) with full facility of customs duty drawback and input tax credit/offset of commercial taxes paid.7 Thus administrative practices at customs can have an adverse impact on international economic relations. c. Proper interpretation of licence requirements by customs The role of promoting good international relations can be understood more from what adverse impact customs activities could have on international relations. An account is given by an ex-customs officer of how the relations between India and Bangladesh came under severe stress some years back due to the action of customs at the border. It was a religious occasion in Bangladesh when the consumption of onion goes up significantly. Last minute supply of many truckloads of onion from India was held up by customs at the India-Bangladesh border due to non-compliance with some customs formalities by onion exporters at the Indian end. It created almost a crisis situation across the border and led to frantic telephone calls by the diplomatic staff from the Embassy of Bangladesh. Last minute intervention by the senior most customs officer in Kolkata prevented the crisis and saved the day from precipitating an economic and political situation between the two neighbours. Unduly harsh customs interpretation of licence requirements or regulations had also upset jute trade with Bangladesh. There was an instance when, for apparently insignificant violation of licence given for the purpose of import of raw jute, whole shiploads of raw jute consignments were held up by the customs. It was only after a timely intervention by the higher authorities that such consignments were released, more than once. Thus overtly strict positions by customs on smaller matters should be considered from a realistic perspective for, otherwise, international economic relations would certainly suffer. Customs has to rise to this responsibility over and above attending to its routine calls and tasks. d. Customs and international treaties The interplay between customs and an international treaty can be seen in both a theoretical premise and in practice. In theory it is important because at the stage of negotiation of the treaty, the role of customs is to help arrive at desirable rates of duty in relation to existing rates in terms of the impact of the proposed rates on the economy. At the execution stage, the role of customs is perhaps even greater
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because it has to ensure that the intention of the treaty is achieved in implementation. In the case of treaties with Nepal, for example, it is incumbent on customs to ensure that the goods intended for Nepal do not flow back to India. Nepal, being a land locked country, has the right to import via India and there are treaties to enforce this right. However, often it is noticed that Nepals imports are of a kind that are not needed in Nepal at all. For example, enormous amounts of zip fasteners and machinery are imported which cannot be absorbed there in practical terms. It is the duty of customs to maintain a balance between needed measures to check the apparent attempts to import goods into Nepal for clandestinely exporting them back to India and the need to maintain friendly relations with an important neighbor in both geo-political and socio-political terms. No excessive measure can be taken that might tilt the balance in an unwarranted direction. Thus the nuanced role expected of customs in enforcing international treaties in a fine quantitative and qualitative balance cannot be exaggerated. e. Anti-dumping duty on imports Anti-dumping duty is imposed by countries to protect their industries from unjustified competition that does not reflect market forces. It is leviable under Section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 read with the Rules which are framed under Section 9A(6). It is imposed and collected by customs. The customs department has to make the initial enquiry about valuation of the imported goods. It has to be satisfied that the undervaluation, if so found, is a pure case of declaring less value in comparison with same or similar products, or that it is a case of dumping. Dumping needs to be proved by demonstrating that the price declared is less than the cost of manufacturing in the country of origin. The role of customs is in assisting the commerce ministry through investigation and detection, to come to a conclusion as to whether any dumping has taken place and, if it has, how much of it is really to be compensated through anti-dumping duty. This has to be determined by investigations carried out by customs and commerce ministry. At the implementation stage, it is the role of customs which is paramount not only in charging the duty but also in enforcing other related laws. Thus, if the customs department uses the anti dumping instrument within appropriate limits, the international economic and political relations are not disturbed. If there are too many anti-dumping cases, where they should not be imposed, or if there are cases of undervaluation of imports where, instead, allegations of dumping are made, then clearly international economic relations between the concerned countries suffer. It erodes the benefits of globalized trade. Such examples are not rare. Countries accuse others of imposing anti-dumping duty in too many cases. For example, India has been similarly accused. But it is not only in India but also in advanced countries such as the United States that these situations have arisen.
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In reality, what has made the pitch look more like a battlefield is the by and large over-enthusiastic use of this potent protectionist weapon even by developed economies to protect economically inefficient but politically sensitive sectors. Taking one example, Indian steel has always found it difficult to export to the United States due to anti-dumping duty on some varieties of steel. Even Europe felt the barrier and threatened to take counter measures against the US anti-dumping duty on steel. The WTO viewed the Byrd Amendment, the US law that allowed cash receipts from foreign exporters (to the US) to be distributed to affected domestic industry as protectionist and declared as illegal. Subsequently the law was repealed by the Congress but the repeal took effect from October 2007. In the meantime, the law was used by the US to collect cash from the foreign exporters of shrimps. This action of the US on the anti dumping front had been to prevent the import of shrimps from China, Thailand, India, Brazil, Ecuador and Vietnam. The attempt to protect the domestic producer of shrimps from foreign competition did not even succeed after imposing 5 10% anti dumping duty because exports from these countries nevertheless remained profitable for them. Not satisfied with this, the Southern Shrimp Alliance representing US shrimpers and processors, wanted an upward review of the duty. Though looking into the books of accounts of hundreds of small exporters could not be feasible, yet they were asked to comply. And, if they did not reply or co-operate, they would have to pay nearly 50% anti-dumping duty. To avoid such a reprisal, the foreign exporters agreed for a pay up to 2% of the value of the goods, which could be legally collected as settlement money and distributed to the Southern Shipping Alliance. Another recent example is the case of high anti-dumping duty levied by the current US administration against the import of Chinese tyres which were feared to be dumped in the country. That led to an angry reaction from China and it had to be settled by diplomatic efforts at the highest level. It must be said that the EU also uses barriers that may not be so apparent but through non-tariff avenues such as environmental or labour conditions that tend to have similar adverse ramifications for exports from EDEs. Skirmishes on the anti-dumping front have become as widespread as globalization itself. The attempt by the WTO to thwart such protectionist tendencies could succeed only if greater power were to be given to it in order to make its finding immediately effective and not after two years or so as in the case of the Byrd Amendment. The US effort to continue with either anti-dumping duty or collect protectionist cash is perceived as a reversal of its avowed allegiance to globalization. Anti-dumping duty is anti-globalization at a higher dose of duty but its absence again may allow

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the domestic industry to suffer injury. So it is a matter of balance which has to be struck by customs and commerce departments. f. Containing money laundering and terrorism There is a clear role of customs in the borders with neighbouring countries. For India, the borders with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar are important not only in respect of the military but also in respect of cross border smuggling. The work of collecting customs duty and checking for contraband are important international aspects that customs officers have to perform. These days, customs offenses have superseded those related to mere customs duty evasion, having transcended to money laundering, narcotics, terrorism, and narco-terrorism. Hence the customs have to be in close touch with Interpol which is the international nodal agency for coordination and execution of anti-terrorism activities. Simply put, a rationally structured and effective customs organization is needed for containing the occurrence of international terrorism. 7. International customs organisations The establishment and functioning of multilateral customs organisations have had a restraining and smoothening effect on the stresses and strains that can and do erupt in international trade relations. a. World Customs Organisation (WCO) The WCO is an independent intergovernmental body whose mission is to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of member customs administrations. The WCO was originally established as the Customs Co-operation Council (CCC) in 1952. The CCC adopted the name World Customs Organisation in 1994 in order to reflect its transition to a truly global intergovernmental institution. It has two wings, valuation and classification. It is headquartered in Brussels. With its worldwide membership, the WCO is recognized as the voice of the global customs community. It is particularly noted for its work in areas covering the development of international conventions, instruments, and tools on topics such as commodity classification, valuation, rules of origin, collection of customs revenue, international trade facilitation, customs enforcement activities, combating counterfeiting in support of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), and so on. The WCO maintains the international Harmonised System (HS) which is a nomenclature for goods, and administers the technical aspects of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreements on Customs Valuation and Rules of Origin. The same nomenclature for goods and the same system of valuation of goods are followed all over the world as almost all countries have joined the WCO. Trade has
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thus become very smooth since the meaning of the goods is clear once a particular nomenclature is used. If a good is described as 5402 20 10 in the invoice of the manufacturing country, wherever it is sold anywhere in the world, it will be taken as synthetic filament yarn of terylene dacron. There will be no need to test the goods chemically unless the customs has any specific information to the effect that the goods have been misdeclared. This has made customs clearance, maintenance of statistics and all other related actitivities transparent and seamless. b. World Trade Organisation (WTO) The WTO is responsible for a large part of work pertaining to customs. This organisation keeps a check on the activity of customs in individual countries in case they go beyond international interests. In this capacity it does not allow countries to impose very high protective customs duty or anti-dumping duty when there is no justification for them. It prevents trade war arising from customs duty or quantitative restrictions on import or export. c. European Customs Union (ECU) The ECU, as a part of the European Union (EU), performs the job of smooth customs regulations within the EU. That the EU has a separate organisation within its fold exclusively for the purpose of customs activities, underlines the importance that customs plays in international trade and economic relations within the EU in particular, and with the global economic community in general. 8. Concluding remarks To sum up, the role of customs in international economic relations is all pervasive and growing. Over the years, internationally, customs duty structures have been scaled back and narrowed so that their application has become far easier. At the same time, other means such as anti dumping duty have been used to indulge in unfair competition. Multilateral organizations such as the WCO and WTO have played an important role in bringing down customs duty rates internationally as well as in monitoring of unfair competition. The responsibilities of customs administrations have moved forward from monitoring only whether the right customs duty is applied to more sophisticated responsibilities and challenges that cover matters of international money laundering and terrorism. The use of informational technology in both traditional and newly emerging functions cannot be over emphasized. The Indian customs faces increasingly complex demands as various case examples we discussed revealed. An ever vigilant customs administration should be able to deliver on those international objectives and help assist in furthering Indias international economic relations.

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Indian Cinemas portrayal of Customs officers

Amitabh Parashar
Senior Film Journalist & Film Director

In the still of the night, a contraband consignment lands at a secluded spot on the Mumbai coast. The smugglers, barely visible in the dark, jump off the boat and quickly begin unloading the shipment. The nattily attired underworld don who runs the operation waits some distance away for the all-clear signal. Suddenly, Customs officials, often led by the protagonist, swoop down upon the gang and scuttle their plan. Their game is up. How often have we seen such a sequence in a Hindi film? Unfortunately, despite the above scene being pretty commonplace in many a cinematic storyline, Hindi films have also contributed to the creation of a negative image of the Customs. In Hindi cinema, we have over the years seen many strong policeman-heroes, men who take on ferocious ganglords and corrupt politicians and annihilate them. Cop dramas are a popular genre in Indian cinema. Two of the biggest Bollywood blockbusters of recent times Dabangg and Singham have centred on the exploits of a police officer who outwits his adversaries, using methods that are unorthodox but hugely effective. Similar films have rarely been made about the life and work of a Customs officer. These men have usually remained on the fringes of popular Hindi cinema, appearing stray scenes at airports or in settings similar to the one described in the opening paragraph. These men have at best been part of the supporting cast. This neglect of an important law enforcement arm of the government is probably attributable to the fact that the work of the Customs officer is not as dramatic as that of a gun-slinging policeman who often takes on a mafia don in mortal combat. It is a less glamorous job, but can be just as exciting and dangerous, if treated with the right degree of flair and eye for detail. Unfortunately, that has rarely been the case. On an online forum, a lady returning to India from the US last year had the following question: I am returning to India in June I am worried about the Customs officers present at the airport. I have heard they harass a lot and demand money. Does anyone have any tips that I can follow? One of the replies the lady received in the thread was illuminating and highlighted the role films play in strengthening popular prejudices: Yes, yes, they harass but only in films. They are portrayed like that. Indeed, the general perception of the department in the minds of common Indians, no matter where in the world they live, has to a great extent been created by the often one-sided portrayal of Customs officials on the big screen. Cinema and television are the principal means of mass entertainment that hold sway over India. What they show or project sinks into the subconscious of the masses and is generally
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accepted as the truth, even if the depiction happens to be blatantly inaccurate and half-baked. But, to be fair, there have been several Indian feature films over the years that have portrayed Customs officers as heroes worth emulating, as upright men committed to duty against all odds. Many Indian films about smugglers have projected the Customs officer as honest custodians of the countrys entry points. They have been depicted as intrepid men who take on powerful smugglers despite grave risk to their own lives and that of their families. In Dil Ka Heera, a 1979 crime drama directed by Dulal Guha, Dharmendra plays an honest Customs officer Rajat Sharma. A widower with a child, he is posted at the Bombay airport and, with the support of his boss, wages a war against a gang that smuggles diamonds into India from Singapore. Although his mission is fraught with risk and he faces many setbacks, he emerges triumphant in the end. In the appropriately titled Saahas, a 1981 action film directed by Ravikant Nagaich, Mithun Chakraborty is Kishan, a committed Customs officer based in Bombay. The department assigns him the job of infiltrating a gang of smugglers and drug dealers to put an end to their nefarious activities. He places duty before self in his bitter fight against the criminals. In the 1997 film, Lahoo Ke Do Rang, directed by Mehul Kumar, Akshay Kumar plays a Customs officer who employs unconventional means to apprehend smugglers. He proves to be a constant threat to the evil empire run by five brothers, who leave no stone unturned to settle scores with him. The brave officer, on his part, stakes everything that he holds dear, including his own family his wife, son and sister in the fierce battle that ensues. He is put on the back foot by the villains but he strikes back in a way that is both startling and effective.
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That apart, in films like Jagruti (starring Salman Khan), Chanakya Shapatham (Telugu, starring Chiranjeevi) and Ayan (Tamil) Custom officers have been depicted in a largely positive light. Jagruti is a vengeance drama in which a Customs officer (played by Pankaj Dheer) lays down his life in the line of duty. His brother, who is the films male protagonist, goes after the culprits and wreaks vengeance on them. In Ayan, the hero, played by Tamil movie star Surya Sivakumar, despite being on the wrong side of the law and working with a smuggling kingpin, eventually fulfils his mothers wish and becomes a Customs officer. The film has a character (Parthiban, played by supporting actor Ponvannan) who is the chief inspector at the Chennai international airport. He is a model officer who goes all out to thwart the smugglers. The hero often gets the better of him but he never gives up. In the 1993 Bollywood film, Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, the hero (Anil Kapoor) is the son of an honest Customs officer (Dalip Tahil) who stands up to the villain (Anupam Kher) and is slain in the bargain. A similar fate befalls an honest Customs officer (Mohan Agashe) in Kala Dhanda Goray Log. He is killed by a drug smuggler the murder is witnessed by the hero of the film (Sunil Dutt) and he sets out to avenge the outrage. In Mahesh Bhatts Saaransh, however, the Customs officials are shown to be unsympathetic to the plight of an old man whose son has passed away in a foreign land. In the Malayalam film, Customs Diary (1993), a Customs officer is portrayed as a corrupt man on whom the hero wages war. In some stray films like Bheja Fry 2, Customs officers have assumed a comic persona. Indian cinemas understanding of the work of Customs officers isnt what it could have been. But as the nature and substance of commercial films undergo a change, it might not be too much to expect our directors to take a fresh look at these brave men.
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Departmental News

The then Chairman CBEC, Shri S.K. Goel presenting a bouquet to Hon'ble Minister of Finance Shri Pranab Mukherjee

The then Hon'ble Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee lighting the lamp to mark the beginning of All India Conference of Chief Commissioners and DGs. Seen alongwith are Hon'ble Minister of State (Revenue), Shri S.S. Palanimanickam; Finance Secretary Shri R.S. Gujral; the then Chairman, CBEC Shri S.K. Goel and Member CBEC Sreela Ghosh.

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Departmental News

Hon'ble Finance Minister of State (Finance) Shri Namo Narain Meena; Dr. Parthasarathi Shome; the then Finance Secretary, Shri R.S. Gujral and the then Chairman CBEC, Shri S.K. Goel during inaugural Banerji Memorial Lecture-2012

Dr. C. Rangarajan, Chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, addressing the All India Conference of Chief Commissioners and Directors General.

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Departmental News

The then Hon'ble Minister of Finance, Shri Pranab Mukherjee releasing the book "Taxation of Services: An Education Guide"

The then Chairman CBEC, Shri S.K. Goel with other dignitaries during the Civil Services Day function.

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Departmental News

The then Chairman CBEC Shri S.K. Goel and Member CBEC Shri M.S. Badhan with WCO Secretary General

The then Sh. S.K. Goel, Chairman (CBEC) signing CMAA with Mr. Tseveenjav Derjee, Director General of Mongolia Customs on 13th April, 2012 at Ulanbataar, Mongolia.

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Departmental News

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Photograph by : Mayank, S/o Shri Karan K. Sharma, DG, Audit, Delhi

Collection of Taxes in Ancient India, Painting by Sh. R.K. Saini, Deputy Commissioner, Retd.

Directorate of Publicity and Public Relations Customs & Central Excise C.R. Building, I.P. Estate, New Delhi-110109
Front Cover : Indian Postage Stamp released to commemorate 50 years of Achievements under the Customs Act, 1962. Back Cover : Photograph by Sh. Vinod Goel, Commissioner, DPPR