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'Single-window clearance' a revolutionary step by the Customs, says Ananya Ray

The government has introduced many reforms in Customs such as 24x7 clearance across most ports

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Ananya Ray, IRS, member (Customs, Legal, Central Excise and Service Tax), speaks at the DNA-JNCH DPD Awards as Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO of ZEE Regional Channels and DNA, and Dr John Joseph, chief commissioner, Mumbai Customs, Zone-ll, look on
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Congestion, chaos and delays marred the image of Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JN Port) at Nhava Sheva, off Mumbai, till a few years ago. However, the picture is changing significantly for better, thanks to proactive steps taken by officials of Jawaharlal Nehru Customs House (JNCH).

Recognising the revolutionary steps taken by the government in partnership with the trade and industry, Ananya Ray, IRS, member (Customs, legal, central excise and service tax), said the change in perception about Customs being a facilitator versus a regulator is very commendable.

"In my career, whatever we did, it was never accepted in that manner. We were always looked at as people who were regulating things but that perception has changed today, thanks to the present government and efforts taken by the department. Over the last two to three years, there has been a remarkable change in the way we do business," said Ray at the DNA-JNCH DPD Awards held last Friday in Mumbai.

Over the last couple of years, the government has introduced many reforms in Customs such as 24x7 clearance across most ports in the country, reduction in the number of documents (from 12-odd to just three now) to be filed by the companies, etc. But one of the most revolutionary things it did last year was introducing the 'single window clearance' facility, which has led to significant reduction in time for completing various clearances and related procedures.

Ray said there are still some aspects that need to be sorted out, but overall things have started moving in the right direction.

Talking about Direct Port Delivery (DPD), Dr John Joseph, chief commissioner, Mumbai Customs, Zone-2, said that as a concept it was in the system for a while but wasn't taking off as envisaged. "While collecting revenue is a major part of our work, facilitating trade is an equally important job responsibility. The teamwork by the Customs officials in partnership with the trade and industry in the area of implementing DPD at JN Port has been well accepted and spelt success for us all," he said.

The proactive initiatives by the Customs officials at JN Port have resulted in a significant volume jump in container clearances – from 3% to 28% – using the DPD facility. Growing at 2% to 3% month on month, the Customs department expects this number to grow exponentially in the near future. In fact, having witnessed the effectiveness of DPD at Nhava Sheva, the government is expected to now ask the other Customs houses and ports to start implementing it in the right spirit.

Top importers who handled the highest number of containers through the DPD window during January-May period were presented DNA-JNCH awards by Ray. Two companies -- Supreme Industries and LG Electronics -- won platinum awards while six others -- BASF India, HP India Sales, Laxmi Board and Paper Mills, Responsive Industries, Mercedes-Benz India and BCCL -- won gold awards. Fifteen others won silver awards.

Neeraj Bansal, deputy chairman, JNPT, said there has been an improvement in efficiency at JNPT in the last two years. "In fact, from April-May this year, we have seen 8% volume growth that shows the port is geared up to handle more and more cargo. The logistics handling has to improve drastically as 65% cargo is still non-DPD. As a result, all stakeholders – shipping lines, Customs House Agents, CFS Association – will have to re-engineer and rework their approach to business. That's the only way to bring in more efficiency thereby enabling much faster cargo clearance at the port," said Bansal.

Terming DPD a national agenda, Umesh Grover, secretary general – secretariat, Container Freight Station Association of India (CFSAI), said CFSs earlier had apprehensions about the loss of business. "However, it later got cleared as with efficiencies, the members will see improvement in the number of cargoes coming in, and the revenue growth will make CFS business not only viable but play a crucial role in the way this (DPD) model works," said Grover.

The (DPD) figure of 34%, according to Deepak Tewari, chairman, Container Shipping Lines Association (CSLA), will go well over 40% and is a simple target to achieve as more and more customers/importers will start clearing their goods in the facilitation of DPD. "Shipping lines have and will continue to gain because faster cargo clearance helps in faster turnaround of ships. Also, faster the cargo gets cleared, quicker will it be utilised for exports. So the entire turnaround and ecosystem are going to save money on the back of DPD facilitation," said Tewari.

Vinod Bhatt, country head – logistics, HP India, said there is always a pressure on our system to optimise costs. "The reduction in turnaround time from 5-7 days to within 24 hours is a huge positive and makes a huge difference to importers and end-customers. We had a very important shipment that came a few days ago. Our sales head told us that this was very important for the company from a revenue point of view and that I should ensure it gets cleared at the earliest. He was pleasantly surprised to know that the shipment was already in our warehouse," said Bhatt, adding that DPD is really making a lot of difference in terms of movement of cargo from port to company premises.

EASE OF BUSINESS

  • The government has introduced many reforms in Customs such as 24x7 clearance across most ports
     
  • Single-window clearance  has led to significant reduction in time for completing various clearances
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