Intl Customs Day celebration in Mangalore on Tuesday

February 4, 2013

Mangalore, Feb 4: International Customs Day – 2013 will be celebrated on February 5, marking the 50th year of Customs Act of 1962, at New Customs House in Panambur, with the theme 'Innovation for Customs Progress', announced Commissioner of Customs, Mangalore, D Purushotham.

Addressing media persons at a press conference here on Monday, he said that Deputy Inspector General of Coast Guard, Mangalore Rajmani Sharma will be the chief guest on the occasion and President of Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mohammed Ameen will be the guest of honour. Awards will be presented to best importers, exporters, Custom House agents and steamer agents. Commendation certificates for outstanding officers of the Mangalore Customs Commissionerate will be distributed. Retired officers will also be felicitated on the occasion, he said.

He said that the Mangalore Customs Commissionerate covering 17 districts of Karnataka, formed in 1997, had implemented services such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system for the implementation of trade facilitation, and 'Sevottam', a system to deliver quality services to tax payers, which is in its last phase of obtaining certification from Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The New Customs House being the headquarters of the Commissionerate also had a full-fledged Customs Laboratory to test samples of the goods that were imported through Mangalore Port, he said.

The revenue target fixed for the year 2012-13 was Rs 630 crore, and the customs department had collected Rs 447 crore till January 2013. The Preventive Units at Mangalore Headquarters and Karwar division has been operating to check smuggling of commodities, with sub-units at Malpe, Kundapur, Kumta and Bhatkal, which detected and booked three cases of offence involving a value of Rs 34.68 crores up to December 2012 in the current year, including seizure of cigarettes. In the month of January, Airport Customs officers detected and seized four instances of smuggled goods like cigarettes, saffron and gold, he said.

He said that the Government of India granted rewards to informers providing them with information leading to detection of duty evasion and seizure of smuggled goods, gold, currency or drugs. The maximum amount of reward to the informer can be as high as 20% of the value of the confiscated goods and penalty realised, he said.

Assistant Commissioners of Customs Krishna Kumar Prasad, B Shyam Prasad and B Shyam Sundar Rao and Superintendent of Customs Ramesh Chandra were present.

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‘Have letter, next step is...’: MUDA on Siddaramaiah’s wife’s offer to return plots

News Network

October 1,2024

Mysuru: The Mysuru land authority at the centre of a financial and political storm - involving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and alleged losses of ₹ 45 crore to the state - has received an offer of restitution from his wife, the urban development body's Commissioner, AN Raghunandan said.

"I am in possession of a letter written by Siddaramaiah's wife regarding her intention to return 14 plots (of land). The Chief Minister's son, Yatindra Siddaramaiah, came to our office and delivered the letter. We will take legal advice for the next step..." he told reporters in Mysuru.

Mr Raghunandan also confirmed anti-corruption officials from the city's Lokayukta branch had written seeking cooperation in its inquiry into the charges against the Chief Minister.

He said the Mysuru Urban Development Authority, or MUDA, "will cooperate with the investigation".

The Enforcement Directorate, however, have not reached out as yet, Mr Raghunandan said. The ED, a federal agency, has filed a money laundering case against Siddaramaiah.

There have also been calls for the CBI, another federal agency, to investigate charges against the Chief Minister, but that appears unlikely now given the Karnataka government has withdrawn general consent for its operations in the state. Law Minister HK Patil made the announcement last week.

He ruled out any link with demands for the Chief Minister to be investigated by the CBI, which reports to the BJP-led central government and the ruling Congress and other opposition parties have claimed is being used by that party to target rival leaders, particularly before elections.

On Monday - three days after the Lokayukta filed a case against the Chief Minister, and hours after the ED launched its probe- Siddaramaiah's wife said she had planned to give up the land earlier but was advised against it the allegations against her husband are "politically motivated".

But now, she said, she had made up her mind as "no house, plot, or wealth is more important than my husband's honor, dignity, and peace of mind". She also said the decision was hers alone; "... I am not aware of my husband's opinion on this matter, nor do I concern myself with what my son thinks".

And, in a comment seen as a calculated swipe at the opposition BJP, which is leading calls for the Chief Minister's resignation, his wife also made an emotional appeal to "all political parties and the media" to "please not drag women of political families into the controversy to settle political scores".

Investigative action against the Chief Minister follows the Karnataka High Court quashing a challenge to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot's order sanctioning Siddaramaiah's prosecution.

Subsequently a trial court ordered framing of charges and directed the Lokayukta to complete the investigation within three months. The ED case was filed based on the Lokayukta FIR.

Siddaramaiah faces an inquiry into claims Parvathi was allotted 14 plots of land in an upmarket Mysuru area as compensation for land elsewhere - holding a far lower value - taken for infrastructure projects.

The Chief Minister has denied all charges and refused calls to resign.

He has been backed by the Congress and his deputy, DK Shivakumar, who is also the state unit boss, and also by members of his cabinet, including IT Minister Priyank Kharge. However, some within the Congress also want him to quit, such as former Assembly Speaker KB Koliwad.

"I will fight. I am not afraid of anything. We are ready to face the investigation. I will fight this legally," he said last week after the High Court had quashed his challenge to the Governor's sanction.

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