Land customs stations in NE proposed to be doubled to 50 : CBIC

NEW DELHI: The Centre has proposed to double land customs stations in the Northeast to 50 by the end of this financial year, following a surge in the smuggling of narcotics in theregionoverthepast12months.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the country's apex indirect taxes body, has identified many porousspotsalongthecountry’sborders withMyanmarandBangladesh.

India shares borders with four countries in the northeast and has 25landcustomsstations,ofwhich20are fully functional and only 15 have electronicfacilities.

“Weareplanningtotakethenumber to at least 50 by the end of this fiscal,” a senior official said. All the land customs stations will be equipped with advanced technology infrastructure, artificial intelligence and real-time reporting to stop the smuggling, said anotherofficial.

While gold, cigarettes and opium were always smuggled via northeast, the official said there has been a sharp increase in smuggling of psychotropic drugs, both in the form of tablets and syrups.