OFFICE OF THE CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS,
MUMBAI ZONE - I, NEW CUSTOM HOUSE,
BALLARD ESTATE, MUMBAI 400 001.

MINUTES OF THE OPEN HOUSE MEETING OF THE CHIEF COMMISSIONERS OF CUSTOMS, MUMBAI ZONE-I, II & III HELD WITH THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE TRADE AND INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS ON 17th August, 2006 AT 3.30 P.M. IN THE CONFERENCE HALL OF THE MUMBAI CUSTOM HOUSE.

The Open House Meeting for the month of August, 2006 was held under the Chairmanship of Shri P. C. Jha, Member, CBEC and Chief Commissioner Zone II, Shri K. M. Tiwari, Chief Commissioner of Customs, Mumbai Zone I, and Shri Sumit Dutt Majumder, Chief Commissioner of Customs, Mumbai Zone-III on 17.08.2006, at 3.30 P.M. in the Conference Hall, New Custom House, Ballard Estate, Mumbai - 400 001. Shri N. Sasidharan , Commissioner of Customs (General) New Customs House, Mumbai and Shri Sunil Jain, Jt. Commissioner of Customs, EDI were also present during the meeting.

2. The following representatives of the BCHAA, Trade and Industry attended the meeting:

i) BCHAA (Bombay Custom House Agent’s Association)
Shri.Bharat M. Shah,
Shri. Pankaj Shah,
Shri.R.Radhakrishnan,
Shri.H.D.Mehta,
Shri Nimesh Desai.

ii) MANSA (Mumbai and Nhava-Sheva Ship Agents Association)
Shri. C.S.Murthy

iii) AIIEA (All India Importers & Exporters Association)
Shri Mohan Nihalani.

iv) D M A I
Shri. S. Srinivasan

v) ASSOCHAM
ShrI George Joseph

vi) Indian Merchant Chamber
Shri Mark Fernandes.
Shri. K. M. Doshi.

viii) Individuals / Member of the Trade India Pvt. Ltd.
Shri K.H.Vesuna. -- P & L Vinni Pvt Ltd.

3. At the outset of the meeting, Chief Commissioner Zone I welcomed all the members of the House. He informed the House that Shri P. C. Jha has been elevated and has joined as Member of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) on 1st August 2006. He congratulated Shri P. C. Jha on behalf of the House for his elevation to Board. He also expressed his gratitude to Shri. P.C.Jha for addressing the Open House and resolving the problems of Trade and Industry from time to time during his one years tenure as Chief Commissioner, Customs Zone II.

4. The Members of the House also congratulated Shri P. C. Jha on his elevation as Member C.B.E.C. They expressed their sincere thanks to Shri P. C. Jha in successfully launching RMS in Air Cargo Complex and subsequently in the other ports of Mumbai, which has resulted in decongestion of the ports and faster clearance of cargo to a very large extent. One Member placed on record his gratitude to Shri P. C. Jha for introducing Test Report Transmission successfully in the Nhava Sheva Custom House which has also been replicated in the Mumbai Custom House. One of the Members suggested that the system of Ombudsman be introduced in the Department and staff strength be increased to handle the growing workload.

5. Shri P. C. Jha in turn expressed his thanks for the faith and confidence expressed by the House and the good wishes of everyone. He assured that he shall try to prove himself worthy of the faith and the expectations reposed in him as Member, CBEC. He remarked that the approach of the Mumbai Trade has always been positive and he appreciated the same. He observed that the approach of the Mumbai Trade is that of conciliation rather than confrontation. He further stated that he would look forward for suggestions in future also and shall be happy to meet the members of the Mumbai Trade in Delhi also. He assured the House that when ever possible, he would make efforts in meeting them in Mumbai too.

6. Thereafter , the discussions on the action taken in respect of the points of the
previous meeting, were initiated.

7. Regarding Point No.8 of the previous meeting “Delay in Refund of Revenue Deposit” Chief Commissioner Zone I informed the House that a strategy for clearing the backlog of refund cases has been worked out and the refund cases shall be accordingly taken up. He further informed that Shri.Manish Mohan, Joint Commissioner (Import) is the designated Officer for the said purpose, who would be looking into the matter and will expedite the same. It was suggested that a list of pending cases may be given by the representative of MANSA, so that such cases could be taken on Top Priority.
(Action: Commissioner( Imp).)

8. Regarding point No 12 of the previous meeting “filing of Manual Bills of Entry” the Chief Commissioner Zone I clarified that Public Notice No.38/2006 dated 11.8.06 has been issued in this regard. Copies of the Public Notice were circulated in the House.

9. Thereafter, the Minutes of previous meeting were accepted as approved by the House.

10. The Agenda points for the instant meeting were taken up next, for discussion.

11. Regarding “the Nomenclature for payment of Customs Duty” in cheque / Demand Drafts it was unanimously decided that the nomenclature would be “Commissioner of Customs, Custom House (New Custom House / Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House / Air Cargo Complex), A/c- Importer’s name”. Chief Commissioner Zone I assured that consequential actions in this regard will be taken up soon.
(Action: Commissioners of Customs,
Mumbai C.H.,ACC, Sahar and JNCH)

12. With regard to the “Breakdown in EDI system” the Chief Commissioner Zone I clarified that the breakdown is a very rare occurrence.

13. One of the members pointed out that ICEGATE breakdown is the major problem. Shri.P.C. Jha said that he has noticed that such a breakdown occurred on one day only and stated that such a rare occurrence may not be viewed seriously.

14. Interruption in power supply, particularly in JNCH, is another problem. Regarding uninterrupted power supply, Shri. P.C. Jha clarified that efforts are on in this direction.

15. Regarding the EDI of Air Cargo Complex, Shri.P.C.Jha informed the House a tie up in the linkage through CFS Mulund is being worked out and as soon as the linkage is established, the problems would get over. He, further stated that, the arrangements are being made, which may take some time and requested the Trade to bear with the Deptt. It may take a few months for the Central Server in Delhi, to stabilize after which such problems are not likely to recur.

16. Chief Commissioner Zone – I expressed his gratitude to the Members for attending the meeting in large numbers at such a short notice and their enthusiasm in extending a warm farewell to Shri P.C.Jha

17. The meeting ended with thanks to the chair.

18. The next Open House Meeting will be held on 28.09.2006 at 15.30 hrs. The points sponsored for discussion for the next meeting should reach POSITIVELY by 20th September 2006. in the offices of the Chief Commissioner of Customs, Mumbai Zone I, II and III, so that the issues can be taken up effectively.

Sd/-
(J. S. CHANDRASHEKAR)
Addl. Commissioner of Customs
Chief Commissioner’s Office
Mumbai Zone - I.

Copy to :
1. The Chief Commissioner of Customs, Mumbai Zone II and III.
2. All Commissioners of Customs, Mumbai Zone I, II and III.
3. The Addl./Joint Commissioners of Customs (E.D.I.), Mumbai Customs/Jawahar Custom House, Nhava Sheva/Air Cargo Complex, Mumbai – for immediate uploading of the Minutes on the website.
4. Shri S. S. Sandhu, Zonal Jt. D.G.F.T., Mumbai.
5. Shri Rajeev Jain, Additional Director (Systems), NCH, Mumbai.

Copy for information and wide circulation to:
All Associations with a request to inform all their members to view the Minutes of the Meeting on the Website of Mumbai Customs at www.mumbaicustoms.gov.in