Of the revenue realised up to December 2012 by the Office of Commissioner of Customs in Mangalore, among all the commodities, coal has contributed the maximum (Rs.78.84 crore ), said D. Purushotham, Commissioner of Customs, Mangalore.
He was speaking at a press meet in the city on Monday.
Coal was followed by fertilisers (Rs.58.20 crore), LPG, timber, crude oil, vegetable oil, project imports, bitumen, methanol and ammonia.
The Mangalore Customs Commissionerate covers 17 districts of Karnataka with coastal jurisdiction extending to about 320 km from Talapady in the south to Majali in the north containing 10 minor ports and one major port and one international airport.
It was formed in 1997 and was headquartered at New Custom House, Panambur, Mangalore.
For 2012-13, the Commissionerate had fixed a revenue target of Rs.630 crore. Till date, it had collected Rs. 15.50 crore and Mr. Purushotham said he was confident that the target would be reached by the end of the current fiscal year.
The Commissionerate had a preventive unit operating at the headquarters in Mangalore which carried out anti-smuggling operations with sub-units at Malpe, Kundapur, Kumta, and Bhatkal. It had detected three offences, also booked the offenders, for smuggling goods estimated at Rs. 34.68 crore up till now in 2012-13. Its airport officers had detected and seized smuggled goods such as cigarettes, saffron and gold, he said.
The Commissionerate had electronic data interchange (EDI) in place. This enabled importers and exporters to file their documents online and enabled the Commissionerate to return money online and quickly. The online process reduced clearance time of cargo and the transaction costs, he said. It was in the last phase of obtaining certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for “Sevottam”, a system for service delivery to its taxpayers.
At the Mangalore Customs Commissionerate, the major imports overseen were crude petroleum, coal, fertilisers, LPG, chemicals, timber, vegetable oil, raw cashew, and the major exports were coffee beans, cashew kernels, marine products, and petroleum products. The New Custom House had a full-fledged customs laboratory to test samples of most of the goods being imported through Mangalore port.
Prizes for informers
Mr. Purushotham said that the government of India granted awards to informers who provided information leading to seizure of goods, currency, bullion, drugs or led to detection of duty evasion including wrong declaration of quantity, description, or value.
The maximum reward to the informer could be 20 per cent of the value of confiscated goods and penalty realised. The maximum reward for gold was Rs. 50,000 a kg, silver Rs. 1,000 a kg, opium Rs. 220 a kg, heroin Rs. 20,000 a kg, cocaine Rs. 40,000 a kg, and hashish Rs. 400 a kg. Those who wanted to give information may contact 0824-2405021 or 0824-2407379, 0824-2406307 and 0824-2407100 (fax). Details of the Customs House in Mangalore were on www.customsmangalore.gov.in.
International Customs Day on Feb 5
Customs House in Mangalore would celebrate International Customs Day – 2013 at new Customs House in the city on Tuesday, said D. Purushotham, Commissioner of Customs, Mangalore. He was speaking at a press meet to announce the event in the city on Monday.
The event would be inaugurated by Rajmani Sharma, DIG, Coast Guard, Mangalore and Mohammed Ameen, president, Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) would be the chief guest. A magazine called “Mangal Hans” of the New Customs House would be released. Awards and prizes would be distributed including commendation certificates to officers, prizes for schoolchildren, awards for best importers, exporters, customs house agents, steamer agents and retired officers would be felicitated. An entertainment programme would follow the event. The World Customs Organisation observed January 26 each year as International Customs Day. Since the Republic Day was observed on the same day, International Customs Day was celebrated on February 5 here.
