Page 114 - SMUGGLING IN INDIA REPORT FOR 2020-2021

68 2020-2021 SMUGGLING IN INDIA REPORT
Third Country Origin (TCO) Dry Dates and TCO Peas
In October 2020, huge quantity of third country origin dry dates(12 MT) and peas(9.3 MT), being smuggled through Nepal-Bihar- UP-Delhi route, were recovered by officers of DRI from a truck where they had been camouflaged under the cover load of rice. Investigation revealed that the CTD goods moving to Nepal were being diverted to India by such modus.
Used goods and other Miscellaneous Items
Smuggled cosmetics, second hand electronic items, machinery, etc. pose grave threat to standards of public health and safety. E-waste, cosmetics, etc. are subject to stringent regulatory mechanisms like clearance from MeitY, conformity to Drugs and Cosmetics Act, BIS norms, etc., as applicable. Routing these items through smuggling channels implies not only evasion of duty but also non-compliance of allied acts as well as the rules
and regulations prescribed by the government from time to time for strict monitoring and compliance prior to giving clearance.
In July 2020, DRI recovered 571 old CPUs, gym equipment and 559 cartons of cosmetics of expensive assorted brands, from containers to be taken out of a CFS in Kolkata, using forged Customs Transit Declaration (CTD) documents. Signatures of Customs officers had been forged on the declarations and the goods were shown to be imports from Nepal. Total seizure value of the same along with seized black pepper of foreign origin (30 MT) and 44.92 lakhs sticks of cigarettes of Gudang Garam brand, amounted to Rs. 16.31 Crore. In February 2021, among other contraband, DRI recovered 23 old photocopiers from a container, said to be containing aluminium scrap, at ICD Jhattipur.