Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Excise & Customs
Circular No. 16 /2013 - Customs
Dated the 10th April, 2013
To;
All Chief Commissioners of Customs / Customs (Prev)
All Chief Commissioners of Customs & Central Excise.
All Director Generals of CBEC
All Commissioners of Customs / Customs (Prev)
All Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise
Sir/ Madam,
References have been received by the Board requesting for fixation of norms for
waiver of payment of cost recovery charges for Customs staff posted at Seaports,
Air Cargo Complexes, Courier Terminal, etc. in like manner of the norms in force
for ICDs/CFSs.
- The matter was examined by the Board and a view emerged that in the manner of
ICDs/CFSs other Customs facilities - Seaports, Air Cargo Complexes, Courier
Terminals and Diamond Plazas - would merit similar exemption from the payment of
cost recovery charges for the Customs staff posted therein once they satisfy
certain performance criteria that confirm their continued viability. The Board
also noted that the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s Greenfield Airport Policy
required the Airport operators to pay the cost recovery charges for the Customs
staff (amongst others). However, the Board observed that unlike ICDs/CFSs the
staffing norms for these other Customs facilities including Airports had not
been finalized. In this background, the Board constituted a Committee of Chief
Commissioners of Customs to recommend the norms for staffing of the Customs
staff at the various Customs facilities. The Committee of Chief Commissioners
was also entrusted with the task of identifying the performance benchmarks that
would make a particular facility eligible for the grant of exemption from the
payment of cost recovery charges for the Customs staff posted therein.
- Based on the report of the Committee of Chief Commissioners, the Board has
obtained the approval of the Competent Authority for the staffing norms for
sanction of posts on cost recovery basis at various Customs facilities and also
for the performance norms that would make a facility eligible for consideration
of grant of exemption from the payment of cost recovery charges. The
facility-wise (Sea Port, Air Cargo Complexes, Courier Terminals and Diamond
Plaza) staffing norms for the posting of Customs staff on cost recovery basis as
well as the norms for eligibility for grant of exemption from payment of cost
recovery charges for such Customs staff are as follows:
Staffing norms:
| Customs Facility |
Dy./Asst. Commissioner
|
Appraiser/ Superintendent
|
Inspector/Examiner |
STA/TA |
Sepoy |
Total |
| Sea Port |
2 |
4 |
12 |
2 |
12 |
32 |
| Air Cargo Complex |
2 |
8 |
12 |
4 |
5 |
31 |
| Courier Terminals |
4 |
9 |
12 |
4 |
8 |
37 |
| Diamond Plaza |
1 |
2+2 |
8 |
2 |
4 |
19 |
Norms for eligibility for grant of exemption from the payment of cost recovery
charges:
| Facility |
Minimum Annual Volume/Value of Import & Export Cargo
|
Minimum Annual Number of Documents – Bills of Entry/Shipping Bills |
| Sea Port |
6 Lakhs MTs. |
3,000 |
| Air Cargo Complex |
12,000 MTs |
35,000 |
| Courier Terminals |
1.5 Lakh Packages |
20,000 |
| Diamond Plaza |
Rs. 15,000 Crores |
12,000 |
Note: Both performance norms (cargo and documents) would be reduced by 50% for
facilities that handle only import or export cargo.
- The staffing norms for Airports will be determined on the basis of the Class
of the Airport (Class A, B or C) as per the criteria of minimum number of
international flights and passengers. Also, it is envisaged that there would be
4 shifts at Class A and B Airports and 2 shifts at Class C Airports. The norms
for identifying the Class of an Airport, the staffing norms for the posting of
Customs staff on cost recovery basis, and the norms for eligibility for grant of
exemption from payment of cost recovery charges for such Customs staff are as
follows:
Norms for identifying the Class of an Airport:
| Class of Airport
|
Minimum No. of international flights per
annum (incoming and outgoing) |
Minimum No. of passengers per annum (incoming
and outgoing) |
| Class A |
12,000 |
10 lakhs |
| Class B |
6,000 |
5 lakhs |
| Class C |
3,500 |
3 lakhs |
Staffing norms for Airports:
| Class of Airport
|
Staffing Norms
|
| Dy./Asst. Commissioner |
Superintendent |
Inspector |
Sepoy |
Total |
| Class A |
4 |
38 |
78 |
24 |
144 |
| Class B |
4 |
29 |
48 |
16 |
97 |
| Class C |
- |
8 |
16 |
4 |
28 |
Norms for eligibility for grant of exemption from the payment of cost recovery
charges:
Minimum number of international flights is 3500 (both incoming and outgoing) and
the minimum number of passengers is 3 lakhs (both incoming and outgoing) in each
of the preceding two financial years.
- The conditions for grant of exemption from payment of cost recovery charges
for all facilities viz. Sea Ports, Air Cargo Complexes, Courier Terminals,
Diamond Plazas and Airports shall be as follows:
- Both performance norms i.e. volume/value and number of documents in case of
Sea Ports, Air Cargo Complexes, Courier Terminals, Diamond Plazas and number of
international flights and number of passengers in case of Airports must be met
in each of the preceding two financial years.
- Exemption from cost recovery charges shall be prospective; and
- No cost recovery charges should be outstanding.
- It has also been decided that based upon the aforementioned norms,
jurisdictional Commissioners would review the existing facilities and send
proposals for waiver of cost recovery charges for eligible facilities within 60
days. The proposal shall be sent to DG, HRD, CBEC. Thereafter, similar review
would be undertaken in April each year and proposals for waiver of cost recovery
charges sent to DG, HRD, CBEC by 30th April. DG, HRD, CBEC will process the
proposals to ensure the necessary orders for exemption of cost recovery charges
and regularization of posts are got issued in a time bound manner.
- These instructions may be brought to the notice of the custodians, Airport
operators by issuing Trade/Public Notices. Suitable internal orders/instructions
may be issued for the guidance of the officers.
- Difficulties faced, if any, in implementation of the Circular may please be
brought to the notice of the Board.
Yours faithfully,
(M.V. Vasudevan)
Under Secretary to the Government of India (Cus.IV)
F.No.450/41/2010-Cus.IV(Pt)