Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

03-November-2011 16:35 IST

Need to Increase Trade Facilitation in Customs : FM

The Union Finance Minister , Shri Pranab Mukherjee has emphasized on the need to increase trade facilitation in customs . He was addressing the third meeting of the Consultative Committee attached to the Ministry of Finance during inter-session period of Parliament 2011, here yesterday. The subject matter of the meeting was “Trade facilitations in customs”.

2. A Power Point Presentation explaining the various initiatives taken by the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC) in enhancing trade facilitation was made before the Members of the Consultative Committee, including a roadmap for future initiatives proposed to be undertaken.

3. During the discussions which followed the presentation, the members of the Consultative Committee appreciated the initiatives taken by the Customs department in facilitating trade. The members also offered some suggestions for furthering the cause of facilitation. These suggestions included, strengthening of customs infrastructure and administration in border areas, facilitating clearance of perishable cargo, greater linkage with other agencies and improving road/rail infrastructure in remote areas .

Both the Ministers of State for Finance i.e. Shri S. S. Palanimanickam and Shri Shri Namo Narain Meena attended the meeting alongwith the senior officials of the Ministry of Finance. Members of Parliament who attended the Meeting include S/Shri Anto P. Antony, Mukesh B. Gadhvi, Neeraj Shekhar, Partap Singh Bajwa, Prabhatsinh Chauhan, S.P. Y. Reddy, Suresh C. Angadi, W. Bhausaheb Rajaram, and Smt. Rajkumari Ratna Singh all from Lok Sabha and S/Shri Birender Singh, Rajkumar Dhoot, Prof. S.P.Singh Baghel, Sabir Ali, Shantaram Naik, Tariq Anwar, Dr. E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan from Rajya Sabha. Shri Ishwarlal Jain attended the meeting as a Permanent Special Invitee.

SS/GN

Trade facilitation in customs: focus on infrastructure, perishable cargo clearance, and interagency coordination to streamline trade. Need to increase trade facilitation in customs was underscored, supported by a CBEC presentation and roadmap; members recommended strengthening customs infrastructure and administration in border areas, expediting clearance of perishable cargo, improving interagency linkage, and enhancing road and rail connectivity to remote locations to streamline cargo movement.