Goyal appeals freight forwarder industry to be honest, transparent in biz

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday appealed to the freight forwarder industry to be transparent and honest in their work as it would help in promoting trade.

He also suggested them to advise their clients to follow honest practices and become whistle-blowers if somebody is doing any wrong.

"In our effort to clean up the system, we need your support...we wish to have a system where we can trust you blindly...Become transparent and honest in your business," he said at the event of the Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations in India (FFFAI).

Goyal also said that the government is taking steps to boost economic growth.

He added that huge forex reserves are there to bridge the current account deficit for the next 5-6 years.

The minister said that the country's exports touched an all-time high in 2022-23 despite global uncertainties.

Speaking at the event, CBIC Chairman Vivek Johri also asked the industry to do the KYC of their clients properly as they should know the background of those clients.

He said that in the absence of proper KYC, fraud takes place.

"You must know your client very well...advise them properly...come forward if any consignment is wrong...and advise your clients within the framework of law," Johri said.

He also asked them to maintain strict internal controls.

He added that the government is taking a series of steps to ease processes for exports and imports.

But still, there is a lot of work to do, he said, adding the national committee on trade facilitation (NCTF) has set out an ambitious action plan for "us and where certain targets were given to us in terms of bringing down the release time of cargo".