Rule Book Tyranny

ONE crackdown after another. The anti-corruption branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) may be getting aggressive, but for exporters and importers, little has changed for the better in their dealings with the junior functionaries at the Customs offices in Delhi. They claim that money is still changing as many hands, though not as blatantly, as it did before the Customs strike—which followed the dramatic CBI raid on the export cargo terminal at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on the night of October 16. The sleuths seized an unaccounted Rs 1.5 lakh and arrested 15 officials, 14 of whom were from the Customs, prompting a four-day strike.

And the most significant post-strike change traders and custom house agents (CHAs) find is in the attitude of the junior officials. They are harsher, and finicky about rules now.

"Everything is totally back to normal," most people from the Customs will tell you. True, to the extent that work is in progress. But so is the corruption, crowned with unnecessary delay in cargo clearance.

"In the import shed, goods take double the time to get cleared now," says a harassed CHA. "While earlier the officials would be accommodating, and work till about 8 pm, now an importer can just forget about getting work done after 5.30 pm." In the export shed, though the work-hours are back to normal and work continues till 10-10.30 pm, the stance remains: follow every rule in the book. The grudge factor that Customs officials hold against the CBI is translating into an unannounced 'work to rule' situation which has slowed down work for both air and sea cargo.

Any number of seemingly valid objections are at the disposal of the officials. A missing signature here, or an ill-fitting description there. What if the official looks at the papers and says the listed price of the item is too high and a market survey is required? The price may finally emerge reasonable but the trader may have lost a week by then. Another example of the zillion possibilities: how does an importer convince a Customs inspector that the commodity he has imported is a die and that it does not have to be classified as a machine.

To make matters worse, the attitude of the junior officials towards the seniors—who remain reasonably accessible to traders—has also hardened. The senior officials (assistant collector and above) have been rolling up their sleeves, working extra hours, and trying to tide over the crisis. But nit-picking juniors insist that any explanations from the top be brought in writing.

Exports being extremely time-sensitive, traders and CHAs get trapped in a situation that corrupt Customs officials can take advantage of. Especially for consignments that go by air. Most such orders are short of time and one-third of the country's air exports go from Delhi. Processing of export documents, which would take a couple of hours pre-strike, now takes almost a day.

However, R.K. Chakrabarti, commissioner of Customs, Delhi, who holds a monthly public grievance meeting with exporters, denies a slowdown and says that he has received no complaint to the effect. Since the traders and CHAs have to deal with the Customs on a regular basis, few can step on their toes. Moreover, 'speed money' is the convenient way out. Who wants to hear a "come tomorrow" or, worse still, "your documents have been misplaced"?

To be fair, the traders themselves can hardly claim to be paragons of virtue. Those who complain most about the Customs also indulge in maximum under-and over-invoicing and giving incorrect information about goods.

And just as there are corrupt Customs officials, there are honest ones too. Shaken by the scale and disgusted by the manner in which the CBI raid was conducted, Customs officials are more cautious now. Juniors have been instructed not to keep more than Rs 500 in their pockets, which does get inconvenient if one needs a larger amount of ready cash. According to Chakrabarti, things are improving and the figures reflect it. "Despite the import duties heading south, at Rs 1,600 crore there has been a 60 per cent increase in the revenue earned (in Delhi) during April-October 1995 over the corresponding period last year."

Ananya Ray, deputy commissioner, Customs, Inland Container Depot (ICD), Tughlakabad, New Delhi, supports this with another set of figures. "Net revenue at ICD was Rs 96.6 crore in August 1995, Rs 95 crore in September and Rs 97.4 crore in October (the month of the strike)." There are two points in argument, though: one, trade is on the way up, and two, revenue is delayed, not lost. The business community, which approved of the raid, is hoping the Government will take its action to its logical end.

While bribes are a surprise if they are not asked for in most government departments, it is easy to appreciate the fallout of the menace at the Customs. No public division so adversely and immediately affects trade.