New Delhi:
The Delhi High Court has directed Customs Officers to ensure that the old and personal jewelery of passengers, including the jewelry worn during the journey, are not unnecessarily detained at airports and are not harassed.
A bench of Justice Priathiba M Singh and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta passed the direction after being informed by customs that a detailed stake stake consultant was being consulted by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and some more time was required to amend the goods rules.
The court was listening to a batch of more than 30 petitions on the custody of the custody of both Indian and foreign origin by the Customs Department on both Indian and foreign origin.
“Since the CBIC and Customs Department are now demanding further time to amend the rules of goods and to put before this court equally before this court, a sensitization initiative will be taken by the Customs Department for all its officers.
The bench said, “Customs officials will ensure that Indian travelers’ old jewelery, personal jewelery that are being worn by passengers during the journey or jewelery are being used are not detained regularly to ensure that the passengers visiting India have no harassment.”
It states that if the baggage rules cannot be amended by the next date of hearing, a standard operation process (SOP) should be placed on record by May 19, which will be followed by the Customs Department until the rules are amended.
In the petitions, the court noticed that various passengers, tourists and Indian citizens coming back from abroad were being intercepted and various items they were wearing, including jewelry, were being detained.
The court prepared by the CBIC by the Bagze Rules, 2016, and the Indian Customs Declaration Form and Guide for Travelers for CBIC and saw that the rules were quite old and archaic, given the increase in gold prices over the years.
It has been noted that the date before the baggage rule 2016, that is, is more than nine years old and, given the realities of the current market, they need to be seen again.
The bench said in its order on 27 March that the SOP should cover all issues, which have been exposed by the court.
The court said that CBIC, Customs Department and other stakeholders should also consider the method in which statements were recorded in standard form from all passengers.
It said that the procedures for evaluation and disposal of detained items were also required to be seen as simple and again.
The court asked the concerned authorities to file an affidavit in the context of these directions and make a place before preparing the draft before it.
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