“The Customs department has the task of tackling economic terrorism,” said Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Chief Justice of Madras High Court.
He was speaking during International Customs Day celebrations held in the city on Tuesday. The theme for this year was ‘coordinated border management – an inclusive approach for connecting stakeholders’. The revamped website of the Chennai Customs department was launched on the occasion.
“Terrorism is no longer just related to war. Terrorists also try to dilute the functioning of the economy,” said the Chief Justice. He explained the transformation of the Customs department into an agency required to balance trade facilitation with legal compliance and enforcement.
He also spoke of the importance of using technology for Customs to carry out their work in a transparent and fair manner. “A lot of problems arise in person-to-person contact. This is applicable to courts too,” he said.
S. Ramesh, chief commissioner, Chennai Customs Zone, said traditional methods of import and export assessment and clearance of goods had given way to modern techniques. “In order to move towards a ‘smart’ Customs, we have adopted a robust risk management system for assessment and clearance coupled with a post-clearance audit-based compliance verification,” he said.
