Chairman and Managing Director of RINL-Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) Atul Bhatt has said that a considerable share of the profit of ₹1,000 crore made by the VSP, after making losses for six years, is contributed by the Customs Department.
Participating as chief guest at the International Customs Day celebrations, organised at the VMRDA Children’s Arena here on Friday, Mr. Bhat said that VSP was paying ₹850 crore as custom duty annually. The Customs officials, who were playing the role of ‘trade facilitators’, provided quick access to VSP to the raw material imports that come in through the port. He explained that 16 million tonnes of raw materials have to be moved for production of 5.5 million tonnes of steel. This indicates the importance of bringing down the cost of logistics.
Describing the VSP as one of the best plants in the world, Mr. Bhatt was optimistic that improvement of volumes, profitability and exports could see VSP achieve a turnaround. China was the largest producer of steel, India was the second largest producer and consumer of steel. While the consumption of steel has almost reached a saturation point at the global level, there was a lot of scope for steel consumption in India in view of the infrastructure development.
Describing steel as an ‘economic multiplier’, the CMD said that VSP was fortunate to be the only coast-based steel plant in India. VSP has rightly positioned itself at the global level. He said that the transition of the Customs Department from being a ‘revenue generator’ to that of a ‘facilitator’ has also benefited Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.
MD of Adani Krishnapatnam Port Limited G.J. Rao recalled the changes in the working of the Customs Department during the last 40 years. He acknowledged the transformation of the department from being a tariff collector to that of a trade facilitator.
Chief Commissioner of Customs and Central Tax, Andhra Pradesh, Sanjay Pant, spoke about the digital initiatives like ‘Swift’, ‘e-Sanchit’ and ‘Turant Customs’, launched by the department,, which were aimed at increasing efficiency and transparency.
Commissioner of Custom House, Visakhapatnam, K. Engineer, who is also in-charge of the Customs Preventive Commissionerate, Vijayawada, spoke about the strong revenue performance of the zone with regard to Customs duties. He appreciated the trade for being proactive in providing inputs for trade facilitation with improvement. He also appreciated the Vijayawada CPC for its highest recorded seizures of smuggled cigarettes and gold, which helped the Vizag Customs zone, to secure a place on the national map for anti-smuggling.
Certificates of appreciation were given to officers and stakeholders for their role and contribution to the exchequer on the export/import front.
