Non-Basmati rice exported through Kakinada port despite ban

New Delhi, Dec 07 (UNI) The Directorate-General of Foreign Trade has cautioned customs authorities against allowing export of non-Basmati rice, through misuse of the "transitional arrangement" route envisaged in the Foreign Trade Policy(FTP).

The caution comes in the wake of ban clamped in October on exports of the commodity to build the central buffer stocks.

The DGFT claims that about three lakh tonnes of non-Basmati rice has been already allowed to go out of the country till November through Kakinada port in Andhra Pradesh, under the "normal transitional arrangement" envisaged by the policy.

In an urgent letter to the Customs member in the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) recently, the DGFT has called for "extra caution" in allowing any export of the non-Basmati rice and urged that all the field formations of Customs be immediately issued direction in this regard.

Referring to reports "from field formations, particularly Kakinada customs," a DGFT official said that till November 30, "about three lakh tonnes of non-Basmati rice has been exported, statedly under the normal transitional arrangement under para 1.5 FTP." The DGFT wants the Customs to honour "only genuine documents and LCs(line of credit)" so as to prevent any export of the banned non-Basmati rice," official sources said.

UNI