The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and all its field formations observed the International Customs Day, 2022 . The theme for this year, as given by  the World Customs Organisation (WCO) was “Scaling up Customs Digital Transformation by Embracing a Data Culture and Building a Data Ecosystem’’.

Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary congratulated the CBIC on the occasion of International Customs Day 2022, by way of their tweets. The Finance Minister appreciated the CBIC for ensuring the supply chain security, even during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Smt. Sitharaman also recognised the data culture and rapid digital transformation in Indian Customs, while urging the CBIC to work more on this front.

In line with the Finance Minister’s earlier directions during visit to Nhava Sheva Customs, the field formations of CBIC conducted an outreach on this occasion, to spread awareness about the multitude of initiatives undertaken by Indian Customs in the recent past. Simultaneously, an effort was made to elicit feedback from various stakeholders, who are integral to the working of Customs.

Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai Customs organized virtual interactive sessions and panel discussions on the topic ‘Scaling up Customs Digital Transformation by Embracing a Data Culture and Building a Data Ecosystem’,which was followed by a feedback session to seek inputs from the private stakeholders.  Online Quiz competitions were also organised by Mumbai and Bangalore Customs Zones, for creating awareness among stakeholders. Chennai Customs Zone inaugurated a modernized and revamped Turant Suvidha Kendra. Kolkata Customs Zone organized a webinar and distributed the pamphlets of ATITHI App at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport to promote the awareness regarding Customs laws and procedures at the airport, for passengers. Respective field formations also organised their local celebrations to commemorate this day. 

A formal function to mark this event was also organised at the Ministry of Finance, North Block, New Delhi, in the afternoon, which was attended through the virtual mode. This was graced by the Chairman CBIC, Sh. Vivek Johri, Members of the Board, senior officers and all the field formations and Directorates under CBIC.

The Chairman CBIC congratulated all the officers of the department on this occasion. He also urged the officers to focus on better service delivery and work towards enhancing predictability and transparency in their day-to-day decision making. On the digital front, he exhorted the officers to have a fair understanding of the automated systems and be active users, so as to provide a meaningful feedback for strengthening the data culture in the organisation.

19 officers of the CBIC and 1 person from the private sector were awarded the WCO Certificate of Merit on this day, in recognition of their contribution towards their services, in relation to this year’s theme, adopted by the World Customs Organisation.

 

Customs digital transformation drives data-driven customs operations and stakeholder outreach to strengthen supply chain security and service delivery. Emphasis on Customs digital transformation and data culture as central administrative priorities, promoted through outreach, stakeholder feedback, webinars and service-point inaugurations to strengthen supply chain security and operational resilience; leadership directed officers to enhance service delivery, predictability and transparency and to actively use and improve automated systems to institutionalise a data ecosystem.