Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday urged customs officials to prepare strategies to deal with changing technologies and developments like cryptocurrencies. Commending the performance of customs officials who worked tirelessly during the pandemic, the minister said, “If India’s Amrut Kaal is the next 25 years, how is the Customs Act, which has served us very well even during the pandemic, going to be future-ready?”

Addressing an event to mark 60 years of the Customs Act,1962, she said there is a “cocktail” of developments such as the dark Web and artificial intelligence, Web3 and Meta, and the officials need to sit up and take note of these.

Earlier at the event, CBIC chairman Vivek Johri had highlighted a new challenge on how to deal with payments made in cryptocurrencies. Referring to a recent case, where payment for smuggled goods was made in cryptocurrency, Johri noted, “This was the first time, customs have seized cryptocurrency. Proceeds of something that is illegally imported is liable to seizure. “This was a new experience but our law doesn’t directly speak to it. But I am sure we will find a way out to overcome this challenge,” he said.

He also highlighted challenges of e-commerce and its increasing role in international trade as well as the phenomena of 3D printing where the value of goods gets mixed with the value of services. “…I am sure customs law will come up to the mark on this,” he said.

Referring to the case on cryptocurrencies, the finance minister also asked how officers would respond to such an issue. “You have before yourself enough and more instances of how speedily things are changing,” she said.

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“I would ask the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs to be the leaders to show how you will have propositions for the next 25 years probably give the World Customs Organisation more ideas.

The Customs Act, 1962, is at present silent on recent developments like cryptocurrency though the finance ministry has introduced a regime of income tax on virtual digital assets.

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The government is also working on a framework to levy goods and services tax on these assets. The finance minister also raised the issue of the rise in smuggling of drugs and said that maximum alertness and use of intelligence is critical.

“If gold will hurt economy, drugs will hurt generations. We cannot afford it,” she stressed.