Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur has expressed confidence that with concerted efforts of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), India would further improve its position in ranking for Ease of Doing Business. While addressing at Investiture Ceremony & International Customs Day 2020 here today, Shri Thakur said that India has risen in the Ease of Doing Business Rankings by being transparent, accountable and logical. This rise in rankings is due to the efforts of the officers of CBIC as Trading Across Borders is one of the key parameter of the rankings and it is credit to the efforts of CBIC that this key parameter has performed.

While stressing on harnessing technology for faster resolution, the Minister said that technology plays an important role by ensuring efficiency, transparency and accountability. Shri Thakur appreciated the response of Custom officials to dynamics of changing ecosystem worldwide. Customs are doing well because they work as a team besides adapting and evolving, especially in a large and diverse country like India.

He said the 2020 theme of International Customs Organisation itself highlights the changing nature and role of customs today. The theme of International Customs Day, celebrated on 26^th January every year, is dedicated to the contribution of Customs towards a sustainable future where social, economic, health and environmental needs are at the heart of our actions, with the slogan “Customs fostering Sustainability for People, Prosperity and the Planet”.

Shri Thakur gave away the awards to CBIC Officers & Staff for their meritorious services on the occasion of Investiture Ceremony & International Customs Day. Presidential Award of Appreciation Certificates and World Customs Organization (WCO) Certificates of Merit Award were also presented to the distinguished officers of the CBIC.

Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Revenue Secretary, also spoke about the thrust on enhancing trade facilitation and the role of other stakeholders including participating government agencies. Revenue Secretary emphasized on use of technology in ensuring Ease of Doing Business.

Dr. John Joseph, Chairman CBIC, while congratulating the awardees highlighted recent key initiatives taken by the Customs for enhancing trade facilitation in line with the Action Plan for implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement of the WTO ratified by India.  He also complimented the officers for their dedicated work especially in the area of preventing smuggling of environmentally sensitive items, flora and fauna. Chairman CBIC said that officers of CBIC are fully committed towards hassle free trade and taking India to newer heights in Ease of Doing Business rankings.

Shri O. P. Dadhich, Principal Chief Commissioner of Customs Delhi Zone presented the vote of thanks.

The following officers received the Presidential commendation.

A.  Exceptionally Meritorious Service rendered at the Risk of Life

1. Shri Afaq Ahmad Giri, Assistant Director, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Regional Unit, Jammu;
2. Shri Lalthanliana, Senior Intelligence Officer, DRI Regional Unit, Aizawl;
3. Shri Ranjeet Singh, Senior Intelligence Officer, DRI Regional Unit, Jammu;

B.  Specially Distinguished Record of Service

1. Shri Bankey Behari Agrawal, Principal Chief Commissioner, Central Goods and Services Tax & Central Excise (CGST & CEX) and Customs Zone, Hyderabad;
2. Shri Pramod Kumar Singh, Principal Commissioner, CGST & CEX Zone, Jaipur;
3. Shri Ashish Varma, Principal Additional Director General, DRI Zonal Unit, Ahmedabad;
4. Shri Vimal Kumar Srivastava, Additional Director General, National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics (NACIN), Faridabad;
5. Shri Subhash Agrawal, Commissioner of Customs, Mumbai –II Customs Zone, Mumbai;
6. Dr. Satish S. Dhavale, Additional Director, Risk Management Centre for Customs, Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management, Mumbai;
7. Shri Nagendra Kumar Mishra, Additional Commissioner, CGST & CEX Zone, Ranchi;
8. Shri Hardeep Batra, Additional Commissioner, World Customs Organisation Cell, CBIC, New Delhi;
9. Shri Sachin Jain, Additional Commissioner, CGST & CEX Zone, New Delhi;
10. Shri Rahul Ramesh Nangare, First Secretary, High Commission of India, London;
11. Shri Parmod Kumar, Additional Commissioner, Tax Research Unit, CBIC, New Delhi;
12. Ms. Sucheta Sreejesh, Additional Director, DRI Headquarters, New Delhi;
13. Shri Gauri Shankar Sinha, Director, Goods and Services Tax Council, New Delhi;
14. Shri Satish Pandurangarao Pattapu, Deputy Director, DRI Zonal Unit, Mumbai;
15. Shri Rajeev Kumar Arora, Assistant Commissioner, Directorate General of Taxpayer Services, New Delhi;
16. Shri. Ashok Kumar Gautam, Assistant Director, Directorate General of Human Resource Development (DGHRD), New Delhi;
17. Shri S. Kalyan Iyer, Assistant Commissioner, Directorate General of Systems & Data Management, Chennai;
18. Shri. Krishnamachari Srinivasan, Assistant Commissioner, CGST & CEX Zone, Chennai;
19. Shri Jitender Kumar Sharma, Superintendent, Directorate of Logistics, New Delhi;
20. Shri Vijay C. Bellary, Superintendent, CGST & CEX Zone, Bengaluru;
21. Shri Haresh G. Parecha, Superintendent, CGST & CEX Zone, Mumbai;
22. Shri Rakesh Bhargava, Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate General of Goods & Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) Zonal Unit, Ludhiana;
23. Shri Ram Niwas, Senior Intelligence Officer, DGGI Zonal Unit, Chandigarh;
24. Shri R. Srivatsan, Superintendent, NACIN, Chennai;
25. Shri Vinod V. Pisharody, Senior Intelligence Officer, DRI Zonal Unit, Mumbai;
26. Shri Krishnakant Gupta, Superintendent, Directorate General of Taxpayer Services (DGTS) Zonal Unit, Ahmedabad;
27. Shri Shasidharan, Senior Intelligence Officer, DRI Zonal Unit, Cochin.
28. Shri Srusti Rameswara Baba, Senior Intelligence Officer, DGGI Zonal Unit, Pune;
29. Shri Dilip Singh Bisen, Senior Intelligence Officer, DGGI Zonal Unit, Mumbai;
30. Shri Somit Das, Senior Intelligence Officer, DRI Zonal Unit, Kolkata;
31. Shri K. Amudhaganesh, Senior Intelligence Officer, DRI Zonal Unit, Chennai;
32. Shri A Shanmugaraj, Senior Intelligence Officer, DRI Regional Unit, Coimbatore;
33. Shri Vijay Prakash Verma, Senior Intelligence Officer, DGGI Zonal Unit, Jaipur;
34. Shri Sanjeev Kumar Bhalla, Intelligence Officer, DRI Headquarters, New Delhi;
35. Shri Rohit Issar, Intelligence Officer, DGGI, New Delhi;
36. Ms. Hem Lata, Senior Private Secretary, DRI Headquarters, New Delhi;
37. Ms. Neerja Sharma, Senior Private Secretary, DGGI Headquarters, New Delhi;
38. Ms. Nita Chirag Shah, Senior Private Secretary, DRI Zonal Unit, Ahmedabad;
39. Ms. Radha Vijaykumar, Administrative Officer, DRI Zonal Unit, Chennai;
40. Shri Vinod Joshi, Tax Assistant, Tax Research Unit, CBIC, New Delhi;
41. Shri S. Nageswaran, Driver Special Grade, DGGI Headquarters, New Delhi;
42. Shri Jaspal Chauhan, Driver Grade-I, DRI Headquarters, New Delhi;
43. Shri M. Shanthaveerappa, Head Havaldar, DGGI Zonal Unit, Bengaluru.

 C. World Customs Organisation (WCO) Certificate of Merit

OFFICERS of CBIC

1. 1. Sh Rajan Chaudhary, Commissioner, Chennai-I, Chennai.
   2. Sh R K Mishra, Commissioner, JNCH, Mumbai Zone-II, Mumbai
   3. Sh Manish Kumar, Joint Commissioner, Directorate of International Customs, New Delhi             
   4. Sh Aneish P. Rajan, Joint Commissioner, Customs Preventive, Kochi.
   5. Dr. Subhash Yadav, Joint Director RMCC, Mumbai
   6. Sh Praveen Kumar Bali, Deputy Commissioner, TRU, CBIC, New Delhi
   7. Sh Kshitij Jain, Deputy Director, DG Systems, New Delhi
   8. Dr. Swati Bhanwala, Deputy Director, OSD (Land Customs), CBIC, New Delhi
   9. Dr. Anees Cherkunnath, Deputy Director, Directorate of Logistics, CBIC, New Delhi
   10. Ms. Anchita Pandoh, Deputy Commissioner, ACC Export, New  Delhi
   11. Sh Babu Lal Meena, Deputy Commissioner, Single Window, CBIC, New Delhi
   12. Sh Gyanender Saxena, Chemical Examiner Gr II, Customs Laboratory, Mumbai
   13. Sh Bibekananda Panda, Superintendent, WCO Cell, CBIC, New Delhi
   14. Sh Mukesh Bihari Pathak, Superintendent, Customs (Preventive), Jodhpur
   15. Sh Arghya Bhattacharya, Senior Intelligence Officer, DRI, KZU, Kolkata
   16. Sh Devanand P. Dhawa, Suprintendent, Customs (Preventive), Jamnagar
   17. Sh Upendra Kumar Vashishtha, Inspector (Examiner) DGHRD, New Delhi

Officers from other Government Agencies:

1. Sh S B Singh, Deputy Director General, National Informatics Centre, New Delhi
2. Sh Navin Kumar Vidyarthi, Indian Statistical Service, Director, TRU, CBIC, New Delhi

Recipient from Private Sector:

1. Sh. P.S. Atree, M/s P.S. Atree & Company Pvt. Ltd., Customs Broker, New Delhi.

Trade facilitation through customs modernization enhances ease of doing business via technology-driven efficiency and compliance. Trade facilitation through customs modernization is emphasised as central to improving Ease of Doing Business, with CBIC credited for performance in the Trading Across Borders parameter. The Board is aligning initiatives with the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement Action Plan while promoting technology for efficiency, transparency and accountability. Concurrent enforcement priorities include risk management and preventive measures against smuggling of environmentally sensitive items. Awards and certificates were presented to CBIC officers to recognise meritorious service supporting facilitation, compliance, analytics and capacity-building.