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AIFSC/AM/03/2008

06.05.2008

To
The Chairman,
Central Board of Excise & Customs,
North Block, New Delhi – 110 002.

Sub: Assigning the Customs work at the upcoming Gangavaram port at Visakhapatnam to Customs - reg.

Respected Sir,

Your kind attention is drawn to the subject matter, which is being dealt in Board’s file F.No. 434/4/2008-CusIV.

The upcoming Gangavaram Port at Visakhapatnam is situated across the harbour of Visakhapatnam Port and it is barely less than 30 kms by road from the Custom House. The Customs Officers of Visakhapatnam, who are experienced at handling the job of a Customs port, are all willing to attend the Customs job at Gangavaram Port in the interest of the expansion of their job opportunity.

The question of jurisdiction, which was raised to dispute our claim, may not act as a hindrance in this case to hand over the Customs work in the Port to the Commissioner of Customs, Visakhapatnam. The whole of Gangavaram village has been brought within the jurisdiction of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) on 03.08.2005. Subsequently the port area of 1800 acres of land within the Gangavaram village was declared as “Notified Area” under the Andhra Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1965 in order to free the port activities from any encumbrances, which might arise under the municipal rules and regulations, so as to boost up the free growth of the Port. The geographical jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Customs, Visakhapatnam should extend up to area of the greater municipal limits like all other Custom Houses and the Gangavaram Port area falls within the geographical limits of GVMC.

It is also learnt that the Chairman and Managing Director of the Gangavaram Port has also, in a letter dated 11.3.2008 gave ample grounds and requested the Board for notifying the Gangavaram Port under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Customs, Visakhapatnam.

Our Association at Visakhapatnam also has made several representations citing all grounds to notify the Gangavaram Port under the Commissioner of Customs, Visakhapatnam.

Moreover, the earlier examples of the Nhava Sheva port, which was handed over to Mumbai Customs, and the Ennore port, which was handed over to Chennai Customs, though they were far away from their respective Custom Houses and were even out of the jurisdiction of the respective Customs Commissioners, strengthen our claim on founded grounds.

It may be reiterated that we have sufficient staff at Visakhapatnam Custom House who can be rationally redeployed and provisions for Gangavaram port from within the existing staff can easily be made.

We are severely stagnated and pseudo-deployed due to the shrinkage of conventional Customs work coupled with the shifting of existing Customs work to the areas outside the port cities. The Gangavaram port is virtually an expansion/ extension of the Visakhapatnam port and therefore, all the staff members of the Visakhapatnam Custom House are looking at the Gangavaram port as an opportunity for expansion and all are determined to join the force of progress at the Gangavaram port.

In view of the above, your kind intervention is solicited so that the Customs job at Gangavaram port may be handed over to Customs under the Commissioner of Customs, Visakhapatnam.

Thanking you,

Yours Faithfully,

(ANUPAM MAJUMDAR)
PRESIDENT

Copy To: 1. Shri P.N.Vittaldas, Chief Commissioner of Cus.& Cen. Ex. Vizag.

2. Shri M.M. Parthivan, Director (Customs), North Block, New Delhi.