Boarding functions – Improving transparency using boarding Jacket fitted with Body Worn Camera (BWC) having video/audio recording facility by Boarding Officer

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....els arriving into the country report their arrival to the Customs and Port authorities. The Boarding Officer/s are usually the first to set foot on any vessel entering the Indian frontiers and they are the cutting-edge functionaries of the Customs Service whose visibility extends to the shipping lines, terminal operators, logistic partners, custom brokers, businessmen, crew members /passengers, etc. The Boarding Officer acts as an ambassador of our country and is expected to seamlessly initiate and conduct customs formalities and procedures. 2.2 Keeping the above as an objective, and continuing with various reforms undertaken by Customs through leveraging technology so as to improve transparency & ease of doing business, to present more professionally the role of the Boarding Officer, keeping scope for upfront evidence in case of an offence or likely offence, and enhancing the protection of interest of the Customs Officer against frivolous complaints, the Nhava Sheva and Ahmedabad Customs Zones, had implemented, since August 2022, the sporting of boarding jacket fitted with Body Worn Camera (BWC) with video/audio recording facility by Boarding Officers while carrying out duties on....

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....livery, consignee / consignor's particulars, etc., and directing the master of the Vessel to get them cleared through Customs at the Divisional Office. h. checking the shops or the 'slopchest' as the case may be in accordance with the list provided by the master in selective manner and placing them under paper seal. i. also ascertaining that undeclared and prohibited goods have not been placed or secreted on board the Vessel by taking casual strolls around the deck, crew cabins etc. j. any discrepancies in quality or quantity in the stores of the vessel or the property of the crew are to be reported to the Asstt. / Dy. Commissioner (Preventive) through Superintendent as these anomalies attract penal provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. k. to regularly intimate the Rummaging Section of the Custom House about the arrival/departure of the vessels into/from the port / harbour. 3.2 The Boarding officer shall continue to follow instructions issued vide para 5 of Circular 25/2016 - Customs dated 23.08.2016 including the collection of feedback in the enclosed format. The Arrival Report would continue to be submitted as per prevalent practice till the full operationalization of the....

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....d any discrepancies in the boarding practice and suggestions for improvement shall be considered and acted upon, and also sent to the Board. 7. The respective jurisdictions/Zones are directed to coordinate with the Mumbai II and Ahmedabad Customs Zone, respectively, for smooth and uniform implementation on 15.04.2023. 8. Necessary Standing Orders and Public Notices should be issued sufficiently in advance of 15.04.2023 by respective jurisdictions. Any difficulty faced, including by stakeholders, may also be brought to the notice of the Director Customs. 9. Hindi version follows. Yours faithfully, (Ananth Rathakrishnan) Director to the Government of India OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS (GENERAL) JAWAHARLAL NEHRU CUSTOM HOUSE, NHAVA SHEVA, TAL- URAN, DIST- RAIGAD, MAHARASHTRA -- 400 707. F.No.S/43-150/2015CHSJNCH DATE 11.08.2022 STANDING ORDER NO. 10/2022- JNCH Subject: - Jacket with camera for use by the vessel Boarding Officer-pilot at JNCH- procedure -reg. Internationally, uniform jackets with equipment such as walkie talkie, night binoculars, body worn cameras (BWCs), searchlight caps, has found an increasing use by the law enforcement agencies for spe....

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....the Boarding officers at this port. This will provide transparency, while carrying on physical check on board and also provide evidence in case of an offence or suspected offence. It will not only add to the visibility of the officer but also has the benefit of increased transparency, legitimacy and accountability for both the citizens and the Customs especially in light of enhanced scrutiny of such public interactions. 7. In this regard, the following procedure shall be followed by the boarding officers- (i) The boarding officer shall wear the jacket with their name and badges before boarding the vessel. The body worn camera shall be placed on the right side at a space specifically designed to hold the body camera. The camera shall be placed upright to capture the image of interaction with vessel's crew and verification process clearly. (ii) The recording camera would be positioned in such a manner so that those watching the footage see the situation from the officer's perspective. (iii) Officer shall activate their camera at the start of their boarding duty on approaching the gangway and make people aware that they are being recorded. The recording shall be continued u....

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...., the first to set foot on any vessel entering the Indian frontiers, they are the cutting-edge functionaries of the service whose visibility extends to the shipping lines, terminal operators, logistic partners, custom brokers, businessmen and most importantly, the common man. Thus, the Boarding Officer has to act as an ambassador of the country and has to initiate customs formalities and procedure without causing any inconvenience to the trade. 4. As per their duties, the Boarding Officer shall board all the vessels on their first arrival in India and collect the Arrival Report consisting of General declaration, Vessel's stores list, Crew list, Private Property list of the members of the crew, a detailed list of embarking disembarking of the passengers/crew, list of same bottom cargo, vessel cargo, vessel's currency declaration, list of arms, ammunition and satellite phones, list of permissible dangerous drugs for the use of vessel or its crew, if any, etc., The Customs Officer shall verify Bond Stores and the Consumable Stores of the vessel with the declaration and shall put the items like liquor, cigarettes, tobacco, arms & ammunition and other sensitive items of the ves....