Mumbai Customs celebrates ‘60 years of Customs Act, 1962’, honours Customs Veterans who risked their lives in service to the nation

Customs Act, 1962, is a well-written, simple and short law which has served us well: CBIC Chairman

“With use of technology and data, our anti-smuggling operations are sharper, we lay more focus on fast cargo turnover and export-import facilitation with proper controls”

The nation is celebrating completion of 60 years of Customs Act, 1962. As part of the nationwide celebrations, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) under Ministry of Finance held an event at New Custom House in Mumbai (7 December, 2022). An exhibition on '60 years of Customs and valuable items seized by Indian Customs over the years' organized by Mumbai Customs was inaugurated by CBIC Chairperson Vivek Johri.

CBIC Chairperson Vivek Johri inaugurated an exhibition on '60 years of Customs and valuable items seized by Indian Customs over the years'

CBIC Chairperson Vivek Johri looking at a 60 year old register of seized items belonging to Mumbai Customs

   

Items seized by Mumbai Customs over the years, like various kinds of narcotic and psychotropic substances , body parts of various wild animals, art and antiques, gold, diamonds, premium branded luxury watches, electronics items, etc. displayed in the exhibition

Mumbai Customs exhibition on '60 years of Customs and valuable items seized by Indian Customs over the years'

   

CBIC Chairman garlanded a photo of revered Mumbai Customs official Shri Bapu Laxman Lamkhade, the first Customs officer to be conferred the President’s Award in 1964.

The Chief of Staff of Western Naval Command Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, Mumbai Port Trust Chairman Rajeev Jalota and Mumbai’s Commissioner of Police Vivek Phansalkar were also present on the occasion, along with officers and staff of Mumbai Customs. The guests garlanded photo of Mumbai Customs official Bapu Laxman Lamkhade, the first Customs officer to be conferred the President’s Award in 1964, who was equally feared by smugglers and revered by officers of Customs.

Inaugurating the event, the CBIC Chairperson said that the Customs Act, 1962, is a well-written, simple and short law that has served us well. Further recounting journey and history of the Act, he said “Today's celebration is about the Act which we live and swear by. The Act was an amalgamation of three different Acts which were in use prior to independence. Despite several amendments, which should be made to organic law, the fundamentals of the Act have been preserved, this is the beauty of the Act.”

Speaking about the adaptation of modern technology by Customs Department, the CBIC Chairperson said that Indian Customs was one of the first government departments to computerize processes. “Now our orientation is on how quickly we turn cargo, while exercising relevant controls. We have done 4 or 5 generations of computer reforms and our work processes are completely automated end-to-end. Almost 85% - 90% of our cargo is facilitated without any intervention by Customs. I keep telling our officers that our true test lies in the balance 10% - 15% - in carrying out the requisite checks while allowing cargo to move quickly”.

Throwing light on various facets of customs work, the CBIC Chairperson said: “While we have come a long way in facilitating cargo, and our focus on revenue collection has been overtaken by other priorities, preventive or anti-smuggling operations are still a very important part of border management and border control, in different locations of the country. The exhibition put up today beautifully showcases our work. Our methods have changed over the years. With the use of technology, our targeting is much sharper and profiling of passengers is better.”

   

The CBIC Chairperson felicitated retired officials and distinguished veterans of Mumbai Customs, SY More, PM Bhaskaran Naik, Rohit Pardesi, Costao, Fernandes, Babulal Gautam, KM Moin, Bharat Yalgarde and Ramakant Yaswant More, for their meritorious service records that had been beneficial for the department and the country. Lauding the efforts of the officials, CBIC Chairperson said “The work we do does not just bring revenue to the government, but also helps protect our economy, society and borders and keeps our citizens safe. We have had some major breakthroughs in controlling smuggling of psychotropic drugs. There have been some mega seizures after we have started using data analysis in identifying such operations. I thank Mumbai Customs for honouring some of our veterans who have been part of gallery of honour”.

Customs Act principles guide modernisation and data-driven anti-smuggling efforts while enhancing cargo facilitation and honouring veterans. The celebration highlights the Customs Act, 1962 as the foundational legal framework preserved through amendments, while Mumbai Customs showcased historical seizures and institutional memory. Officials stressed modernisation through computerisation and automation to facilitate rapid cargo turnover with appropriate controls, concentrating targeted, data-driven checks on a limited share of consignments and strengthening anti-smuggling and border-management efforts. Retired veterans were honoured for operational contributions.