Chidambaram
Asks Officers to Master Technology on International Customs Day
The Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said that
the restricting the import of gold helped in containing Current Account Deficit
(CAD) and balance of payments’ position. Mr. Chidambaram
said that the restrictions on gold may be revisited at the end of the current
fiscal. The Finance Minister was speaking at the function organized on 27 January
in order to celebrate International Customs Day. This Day is being celebrated
on 26th January each year by 179 Customs administrations, members of the
Brussels based World Customs Organization (WCO), to mark the first session of
the Customs Co-operation Council, which was renamed WCO in 1994. The theme for
the International Customs Day this year is “Communication: sharing information
for better cooperation.”
Speaking on the occasion, the Finance Minister Chidambaram
further said that in the era of integrated global economy, technology is the
key driver of growth. Therefore, he asked the customs officers, especially the
young officers to keep pace with the technology. He rather asked them to master
the technology.
Dwelling on the post-GST revenue scenario, the
Finance Minister said that the Customs would continue to perform a critical
function as sentinels of our borders and facilitators of legitimate trade. He
said that India played an important role in the recent WTO Ministerial Meeting
in Bali reaching a Trade Facilitation Agreement, which will have long term
relevance for Customs’ functioning
The Finance Minister Chidambaram also appreciated
the Customs Risk Management System (RMS) in imports and its implementation last
year in Exports. The Finance Minister said that it is important for the Customs
to set measurable quantitative goals for Risk Management System (RMS) in terms
of reduction of dwell time and reduction of paperwork.
Besides the Union Finance Minister, both the
Ministers of State for Finance Namo Narain Meen and J.D. Seelam, Sumit Bose, Finance Secretary,
Ms Praveen Mahajan, Chairperson CBEC, Ms. Shobha Chary, Member
(Customs) along with other members of the CBEC and senior officers of the
Ministry of Finance and CBEC were also present on this occasion.
[Source: PIB (MoF) Press
Release dated 27th January 2014]