Air Freight Stations
(AFS) on lines of CFS soon, Cost Recovery Charges (CRC) for Customs Officers
Notified
[Circular No.
21/2023-Customs dated 14 September, 2023]
Subject:
Norms for posting of officers and benchmark performance criteria while granting
exemption from payment of Cost Recovery Charges (CRC) at Air Freight Stations
(AFS).
Ministry
of Civil Aviation issued Policy Guidelines on Air Freight Station (AFS) on 28.10.2014.
This initiative of AFS was to create an enabling environment for promoting
International Air Cargo operations by reaching out to hinterland regions of the
country besides de-congesting the congested Air Cargo terminals. An Air Freight
Station (AFS) is an off-airport Common User Facility equipped with fixed installations
of minimum requirements and offering services for handling and temporary
storage of import and export cargo.
2.
Whenever a new Customs facility like ports, airports, inland container depots etc.
is notified by the Board in terms of section 7 of the Customs Act, 1962, there is
deployment of Customs staff to operationalise the facility.
Customs staff is deployed by respective jurisdictional Customs formation on
posts created on Cost Recovery basis. Board has issued comprehensive guidelines
in respect of posting of Customs officers and staff on Cost Recovery Charge
(CRC) basis vide Circular No. 02/2021-Customs dated 19.01.2021.
3.
Till date there was no functional AFS, however, it is expected that soon AFSs would
be ready for operationalization. Presently there are no norms 
specified for posting of officers
and benchmark performance criteria while granting exemption from payment of
Cost Recovery Charges (CRC).
4.
In this background, CBIC constituted a Committee of Chi ef
Commissioners of Customs to recommend the norms for staffing of the Customs
staff at AFS. The Committee of Chief Commissioners was also entrusted with the
task of identifying the performance benchmarks that would make an AFS eligible
for the grant of exemption from the payment of cost recovery charges for the
Customs staff posted therein.
5.
Based on the report, CBIC has obtained the approval of the Competent Authority
for the staffing norms for sanction of posts on cost recovery basis at AFS and also
for the performance norms that would make an AFS eligible for consideration of
exemption from the payment of cost recovery charges. The recommendations as
approved are mentioned as below,-
(i) Staffing norms for an AFS:
|
Category
of goods handled by AFS |
DeputyIAsst. Commissioner/ |
Appraiser/
Superintendent |
Inspector/
Examiner |
STA/
TA |
Hawaldar |
Total |
|
Both
imported and export goods |
1 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
11 |
|
Only Export goods |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
(ii) Benchmark performance criteria for grant
of waiver from Cost Recovery Charges for an AFS:
|
Category of
goods handled by AFS |
Criterion-I: Minimum Annual Volume of Import &
Export Cargo per year |
Criterion-II: Minimum number of documents -Bills of
Entry/Shipping Bills per year |
|
Both imported and export goods |
4000 MTs |
14,000 |
|
Only Export goods |
2000 MTs |
7,000 |
(iii)
An AFS will become eligible for waiver of cost recovery charges if it achieves both
the above mentioned criteria in the preceding two financial
years or any one of the criteria in the preceding four financial years.
(iv)
The other aspects prescribed for Customs facilities in Board's Circular 02/2021-Customs
dated 19.01.2021 such as creation of cost recovery posts payment of cost recovery
charges, procedure for granting waiver, withdrawal of waiver granted, de-notification
& cost recovery charges etc. will be made applicable to AFS also.
6.
These instructions may be brought to the notice of the stakeholders by issuing Trade/Public
Notices. Suitable internal orders/instructions may also be issued for the guidance
of the officers.
7.
Difficulties faced, if any, in
implementation of the Circular may please be brought to the notice of the Board.
F.No. 394/51/2020-Cus(AS)/e-file-Part(1)