New Delhi, May 12 (FN Agency) Gold, narcotics and cigarettes are highly prone to outright smuggling, Vivek Johri, Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said on Thursday. Highlighting the extent of the menace at Conversation Series’ organized by FICCI’s Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy (CASCADE), Mr Johri said,“At CBIC, we are going aggressively against illicit trade in these goods. In 2021-22, we seized 92,000 kg of narcotics worth Rs 17,400 crore, during this period, we also seized 14 crore cigarette sticks”. He said artificial intelligence and data analytics are playing a pivotal role in targeting instances of smuggling which have significantly helped the department to deal with the growing menace of illicit trade.
Mr Johri also shared those unscrupulous players indulge in illicit activities by misusing free trade agreements, export promotion schemes, and misuse end user-based exemptions. “CBIC is trying to overcome these challenges in a systemic way, and have ramped up the use of technology in their operations with 22 cargo scanners at 16 locations to ensure 100% scanning of all containers coming into the country through gateway ports,” he said. Anil Rajput, Chairman, FICCI CASCADE said, “Smuggling and illicit trade is increasingly hurting Indian economy and have crept into multiple sections of the society. Immediate steps are required, both in the form of policy intervention and awareness generation, to address this growing menace.”