Customs may get power to inspect cargo at ICTT

KOCHI: Union Shipping Secretary K Mohandas said that the government would look into the Customs Act and the SEZ Act and consider introducing necessary changes to enable the Customs to inspect cargo in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ).The Customs and the SEZ authorities has been at loggerheads over the inspection of cargo being shipped via International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT), Vallarpadam for some time now.The SEZ authorities’ stand is that, inspection cannot be permitted in the SEZ area. This is not acceptable to the Customs. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Kochi on Friday, the shipping secretary said that since Vallarpadam ICTT was the first port-based SEZ in the country there had been some initial confusions. “However, the issues will be sorted out soon,” he said.