Coimbatore is one of the designated airports in the country for 24x7 Customs operation (facility for clearance of export and import goods).
According to an official of the Commissionerate of Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax here, exports from Coimbatore, especially air cargo, include food items, flowers and perishable goods and as a trade facilitation measure, the 24x7 facility has been introduced. It was already in practice, even before Coimbatore was designated for the facility.
R. Rajesh Kumar, president of Coimbatore Custom House and Steamer Agents’ Association, said that the facility was introduced here last month and it was expected to take another month to be implemented fully.
Coimbatore has two international flights – flights to Singapore on four days a week and flights to Sharjah on all days of the week. The maximum volume of goods that can be sent is two tonnes to three tonnes on a flight. The focus is on passenger traffic and the major air cargo from here is garments, perishable items and small machinery. The Customs clearance for these is now taken well in advance. The 24 x 7 facility will improve exports and imports from Coimbatore.
However, the entire supportive infrastructure should be in place, the plant quarantine facility should become fully operational and international flight connectivity should be improved, he said.
Exports worth Rs. 1,417 crore have been handled at the cargo complex and inland container depots in Coimbatore and Tirupur till July this year as against Rs. 1,102 crore last year.
The drawback sanctioned is Rs. 86 crore till July this year as against Rs. 35 crore for the same period last year, indicating increase in exports from this region.
