The Customs Department has suspended the Customs Cargo Service Provider approval granted to the Dronagiri Rail Terminal Container Freight Station, operated by state-owned Container Corporation of India, citing serious security deficiencies and theft of export cargo. The suspension took effect immediately and will remain in force until further orders.
Why was the Dronagiri Rail Terminal CFS suspended?
According to a public notice issued by the Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House on July 22, Customs had earlier directed all Customs Cargo Service Providers through an advisory dated June 25 to strengthen security measures and ensure strict compliance with the Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009. Despite this advisory, serious security deficiencies and theft or pilferage of export cargo were subsequently detected at the Concor-operated facility, prompting the suspension.
What is the scale of operations at Dronagiri Rail Terminal?
Spread across 59 acres near Jawaharlal Nehru Port, the rail-linked facility handles around 14,000 twenty-foot equivalent units every month. It operates three rail lines, runs 90 to 100 rakes monthly, and has warehousing capacity of 35,640 square metres for export-import cargo, 4,200 square metres for domestic cargo, and 2,000 square metres of bonded warehousing space.
What happens to cargo already at the facility?
The public notice clarified that cargo already present at the Concor DRT CFS as on July 22 will be permitted to be cleared for export or import following prescribed Customs procedures. However, fresh receipt of export and import cargo into the facility has been stopped with immediate effect. An exception applies to cargo where the Import General Manifest or Sea Arrival Manifest had already been filed by the shipping line, or where the shipping bill or bill of entry had been filed before midnight on July 23 designating the facility as the destination.
Is this the first such suspension at Jawaharlal Nehru Port?
The suspension comes around two months after Customs suspended the licence of International Cargo Terminal Pvt Ltd, after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence found two imported containers at that CFS stuffed with fireworks and firecrackers from China, a restricted item, despite being declared as gypsum plaster and CMS granules. International Cargo Terminal has a monthly handling capacity of 15,000 TEUs.
What does this mean for capacity at Jawaharlal Nehru Port?
With both container freight stations now suspended, handling capacity in the Jawaharlal Nehru Port area has dropped by around 30,000 TEUs a month. The public notice noted that the move is likely to add to existing congestion around container evacuation from the port’s terminals, a situation already strained by disruptions linked to the conflict in the Middle East.
