IGT moves Court against Customs staff withdrawal

KOCHI: The India Gateway Terminal Pvt Ltd, which operates the International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam, approached the Kerala High court on Monday against the Customs authority’s move to withdraw its staff from the ICTT gate. Justice P N Ravindran transferred the case to another bench.The petitioner submitted that the decision was contained in a letter written by the Commissioner of Customs, Kochi. to the chairman of the Cochin Port Trust. “ICTT, being a container terminal, comes under the Special Economic Zone Act. As per the SEZ Act, no customs examination can be carried out or conducted in the processing area. The customs could conduct such examinations only in the non-processing area of a SEZ,” the petitioner said.As per the Trade Facility Notice, the Customs Commissioner requires the containers to be immediately taken out of the petitioner’s unit to the Container Freight Station (CFS) for examination and delivery. However, Customs authorities recently demanded demarcation of an examination area inside the ICTT. But the petitioner refused on the grounds that the entire premises of the petitioner comes under the SEZ Act where the law did not permit Customs authorities to set up such a facility. “As per Section 51 of the SEZ Act, the customs authorities have no jurisdiction over any SEZ. The commissioner has been attempting to usurp jurisdiction of the India Gateway Terminal,” the petition pointed out.The Petitioner further alleged that by a letter dated October 28, the Commissioner of Customs threatened to withdraw the customs officers from the ICTT gate. If the customs authorities withdraw its staff from the ICTT gate, and prevent cargoes from getting exported/imported through the ICTT, the decision would be contrary to the SEZ Act and SEZ Rules.  It would affect containerised trade and commerce from the Kochi port, the petitioner said.The petitioner is also challenging the inexplicable delays and inaction on the part of the Ministries of shipping, Finance and Commerce & Industry in formulating and publishing a policy on the operation of port-based Special Economic Zones. The writ petition was filed through High Court advocate Joy Thattungal.