Customs Lost Rs 10,000 Cr Revenue Due To Exim Sops

Rs 10,000 crore revenue was foregone in the last fiscal by the customs and excise departments due to export-import incentives. The first quarter of this fiscal has seen Rs 2400 crore revenue lost owing to EXIM incentives.

Customs chief D K Acharya and Excise commissioner B Nanda were addressing a meet organised by the All India Association of Industries (AIAI) here. Both the excise and custom commissioners assured industry heads that immediate steps were being initiated to simplify procedures to promote closer interaction between the industry and the central revenue agencies.

Acharya said the customs revenue in Mumbai zone was stagnating due to dwindling imports, reflecting the slowdown in the economy. He added that exports had not fallen as much as imports.

 

On the measures being taken to enhance electronic data interchange, Acharya noted that management information systems were in place along with interactive voice response systems installed at the air cargo facility, Nava Sheva. The latter will soon become operational at the Bombay Customs House.

"This systems permit viewing bill-of-entry status online as well as through phone, fax and e-mail. A scientific auditing system is being developed," Acharya said.

AIAI president Vijay Kalantri called for minimum interaction at the level of junior officials as he felt this would bring in more revenue to the government exchequer.