The 80th policy commission session of World Customs Organisation (WCO), concluded last week. Major issues faced by Customs Departments globally, including trade facilitation, controlling the illicit flow of finance and the challenges posed by drones and digital products, were discussed. As India is the host country, Chairman of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) S Ramesh led the Indian Customs officers at the various policy sessions. In an interview to BusinessLine , Ramesh stressed that the the Customs Department needs to be prepared for the challenges posed by New Age technologies such as drones and the dark net. Excerpts:

There is a WTO moratorium on levying Customs duty on drones till 2019. How does the Customs Department view such new and disruptive products?

We need to look beyond the moratorium. The Customs are looking out for drones that pose a risk to the safety and security of the country. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has detected several cases of drones brought illegally into the country and confiscated them. They are constantly on the lookout for such potentially disruptive products. The officers are also undergoing knowledge upgradation for effective management of such problems.

The Customs Department also needs to look at products such as 3D-printing, which are getting generated in the digital space where there is no border. Customs is the border agency but borders are invisible as far these technologies are concerned.

How do you view the developments in e-commerce and the dark net space?

As e-commerce grows, threats from the dark net will also grow as people will use dark net to send contraband consignments using the courier or postal route. CBIC is working with Customs of other countries for creating modalities to curb such transactions.

The supply route for products such as narcotics is well-known, the suppliers are also known. Therefore, the use of dark net for such transactions needs to be figured out.

This policy session was also used for forging partnerships and understanding with Custom chiefs of other countries for fighting such menace. Customs Mutual Assistance Agreements were signed with other countries, which will help with sharing information and intelligence.

How is terror financing being tackled by the Customs Department?

Illicit movement of money happens when there is a requirement of funds by criminals, terrorist and money launderers. Customs is uniquely placed because it tracks the movement of people and goods.

So cases of over- and under-invoicing in trade are always on the radar.

Since the Customs also has a huge repository of human and trade data, Artificial Intelligence tools, and Social Networks Analysis tools are used for finding new threats to the safety and security of the country.

What was the key takeaway from the policy session?

The most pressing issue faced by all the Customs departments is the trade facilitation as global trade is growing by leaps and bounds. If the global trade needs to grow, trade barriers need to be less stringent, where Customs can play a big role.

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