Amendment in guidelines for providing information about arrests and smuggling: reports must be submitted to CBIC within 24 hours

The guidelines about the reporting of arrests, smuggling, and commercial frauds by Customs officers have been modified by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). Increasing risk-based targeting and reducing fraudulent attempts by syndicates are the goals of this action.

According to a directive from the CBIC to field officers, customs zones are either not sharing reports of arrests, smuggling, and commercial fraud incidents, or they are sharing them only infrequently. The information provided in the arrest report is frequently insufficient.

According to the CBIC's updated guidelines, the Chief Commissioner or Director General of the Customs area must email the report to CBIC within 24 hours of the person's arrest.

The detained person's nationality and the nature of his offence must be disclosed in the arrest report. In addition, the officials must disclose the quantity and value of the items they have seized. Reports about smuggling and commercial fraud should be sent "immediately" to the CBIC by the Commissioner of the area in question if the Customs officer has not yet made an arrest.

The CBIC stated that the incident report should include the flight/journey/cruise number and Customs declaration, noting that Customs Commissioners are 'expected to remain up-to-date' for cases of smuggling and commercial fraud under their jurisdiction. Details about the document ought to be included.

The country of origin of the goods and the associated duties must also be mentioned in the report.