NTBs Hold up Onion Import at JNPT

Mala Srivastava, Commissioner of Customs (Import) at Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House in Uran, on Tuesday said there was no delay on the customs’ part in clearing onions, recently imported from Pakistan.

Srivastava clarified that the customs’ examining staff was on duty at various container freight stations (CFS) even on January 1.

So far, four bills of entry covering 12 containers of imported onions from Pakistan have come to the customs for clearance.

Of these, four containers loaded with 79 metric tonne of onions were already cleared on December 29 while the remaining eight containers with 99 tonnes of onions went through the Customs as well as Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and plant quarantine clearances by January 3.

“It is actually the responsibility of food importers to produce FSSAI and plant quarantine clearances to the customs so that the goods can be cleared,” said Shrivastava.

She also said that it is the duty of the container freight station (CFS) to transport cargo from port to the CFS so that it can be cleared by customs. Four more onion containers are expected to move from the port to concerned CFS soon.