The Hindu : National : Check-post complexes soon to keep close watch on goods from Nepal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Oct 16, 2004

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National

Check-post complexes soon to keep close watch on goods from Nepal

By Our Special Correspondent

PATNA, OCT. 15. The Centre has decided to set up four Integrated Check-Post Complexes along the Indo-Nepal Border to monitor movement of goods more closely in view of the disturbances caused by Maoists across the border.

The Chief Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), Patna, S.K.Shingal, told reporters that the National Security Council Secretariat had decided to upgrade infrastructure. The implementation was being monitored by the Cabinet Secretary.

The complexes to be set up at the four check posts at Jogbani, Raxaul (both Bihar) Sunauli and Nepalganj Road (both Uttar Pradesh) account for 87 per cent of Nepal's bilateral trade with India and 50 per cent of Nepal's third country trade. They would house the offices of the Customs, immigration, police, excise and sales tax. They would also have SSB units, plant quarantine, food testing laboratory, cargo and baggage examination yards, warehousing, parking facilities and other related services. Work would be completed within two years.

Mr. Shingal said that the disturbances in Nepal had affected revenue collections. Earlier, goods to India would come through the 22 authorised routes under the Preventive Commissionerates of Patna and Lucknow, which he headed in his capacity as the Chief Commissioner.

However, revenue collections had increased in the first six months of the current financial year.

He admitted that Customs officials received threats from the Maoists. But they had not been able to disrupt collection of revenue and prevent smuggling of contraband goods.

During the period ending September, Customs had seized contraband goods worth Rs. 7.36 crores and filed 1751 cases. Two persons were arrested. Mr. Shingal said that it was not easy to detect smuggling of arms across the vast and porous trans-national border.

Revenue collections in the form of import duties was to the tune of Rs. 88.5 crores, exceeding by Rs. 11.55 crores the amount realised during the same period last year. He was confident that the department would meet its target of Rs. 215 crores, having exceeded last year's target of Rs. 160 crores by Rs. 10 crores. In the latest seizure last week, Customs officials seized 800 kg of ganja worth Rs. 16 lakhs concealed in a truck carrying stone chips at Raxaul.

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