Mukherjee presents presidential awards for Customs, Central Excise officers

New Delhi, Jan 24 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the presidential awards to the officers of the Customs and Central Excise and Directorate of Enforcement here today.

The officers of the Customs and Central Excise Department are considered for grant of presidential award of appreciation certificate for exceptionally meritorious service rendered at the risk of life and specially distinguished record of service on their achieving and maintaining excellence in the discharge of their duties.

This year, one officer has been selected for Presidential Award Appreciation Certificate for 'Exceptionally meritorious service rendered at the risk of life' and 34 officers have been selected for grant of Presidential Award of Appreciation Certificate for 'Specially distinguished record of service'.

Addressing on the occasion, Mukherjee said: "The Customs and Excise Department today bears little resemblance to what it was in the days gone by. The department should justly take pride in the fact that it has adapted quickly and successfully to the changes and challenges that it has encountered.

"We must recognize that the arduous task of tax enforcement has become even more challenging in view of the legitimate expectations of trade facilitations," he added.

"As our country strives to become a global economic power in a constantly changing world, the guardians of economic frontiers and revenue officials would need to be efficient and friendly with those who comply with the law," he said.

"They would need to be equally vigilant and swift in dealing with those who hoodwink the system for their personal gains," he added.

He further said that customs will continue to play a vital role in combating the menace of fake Indian currency notes, narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

"All this means that the customs operational units have to be equipped with the latest technology and resources for combating such offences," he added.

He said that a strong and collaborative intelligence network is the cornerstone of a proactive customs administration.

Stating that there are nine Customs Overseas Intelligence Network (COIN) posts located outside India, Mukherjee said this existing network should be effectively utilized to monitor the cross border transactions relating to customs. (ANI)