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Our Bureau

Pivotal role in protecting country's strategic interests stays

Bangalore , April 8

The Union Minister of State for Finance, Mr S.S. Palanimanickam, has allayed apprehension that outsourcing and offshoring could lead to loss of knowledge capital or institutional skill.

Stating that the core functions of the Customs Department could not be outsourced, the Minister said Customs officers would continue to have a pivotal role in protecting the strategic interest of the country and its security.

`Re-engineer business processes'

Addressing the World Customs Organisation (WCO) conference on ICT here on Saturday, Mr Palanimanickam, however, felt that for leveraging information technology to the maximum it would be necessary for customs to re-engineer its business processes that distinguished the applications for core competency while separating support functions that could be outsourced.

The Minister said the Customs Departments should determine the boundaries of outsourcing and should determine the services and services levels that needed to be outsourced. "Globalisation has a relentless logic of its own and there is no escaping the larger question regarding outsourcing," he stressed.

If the Customs Department was to retain its edge in its core responsibilities, the response to outsourcing required changes in the way it did its business and the need for a service orientation that did not compromise its enforcement roles.

Mr Pravin Gordhan, Chairperson of the WCO Council, Mr Michel Danet, Secretary-General, Mr Ray Mcdonagah, Deputy Director, WCO, and Mr K.M. Chandrasekhar, Revenue Secretary, also addressed the conference.

Mr Gordhan said there was need to bridge the gap in understanding between the WCO and WTO for greater harmony in international trade.

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