Centre plans RFID tags for Nepal, Bhutan-bound trucks

The Centre is planning to install radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags in trucks bound for Nepal and Bhutan in order to track their movement, an official said on Thursday.

"We are trying to equip Nepal and Bhutan-bound vehicles with RFID devices. Whenever such containers are going to Bhutan and Nepal, they will be fitted with RFID. The device will track at which places the vehicle is going," said M.K. Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Customs (Port), Kolkata.

According to him, in case cross-border movement of goods vehicles, they are supposed to go through a specified route. "But diversion of routes happens. With the installation of tracking system, the number of diversion cases is supposed to go down."

He said: "Suppose, a cargo is bound for Nepal or Bhutan carrying imported products and it unloads goods in India, the central government loses potential revenue in that case. The government losses its revenue if imported goods come to Indian markets without any duty."

Asked about the timeline for the implementation of tracking system, he said, "It is in the pipeline."

--IANS

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