Coimbatore Customs will be in charge of Commissioner of Customs – Tiruchi from January 15, according to an official communication.
The plan earlier was to effect the change from November 1. Following representations from trade and industry here against the move, it was postponed to January. A recent communication says that the change will be effective from January 15. “We do not know whether there will be any further deferment of the plan as the industry here has opposed it. But, as of now the proposal is to make the change effective from January 15,” said an official.
Coimbatore Customs covers four Inland Container Depots – two in Tirupur and two in Coimbatore, the air cargo complex and the Coimbatore airport. The goods exported and imported from these include engineering items, textile products, sugar, machinery, accessories, and coir.
Industries here continue to demand that Coimbatore should be the regional head quarters for Customs. “We understand that there were discussions already in this regard and the officials felt that Tiruchi is centrally located in the State. However, Coimbatore is a major industrial hub and the range of products exported or imported from here is huge. So, this should be the main Customs centre,” said an industry representative here.
Another industry source added that there are not many in the trade and industry who have understood the implications of the change as they feel it is only an administrative rework. Even the zonal GST meeting, which used to be conducted here once in three or four months, has been shifted to Chennai. “We will continue to pursue with the Government to have a senior official for Customs here,” said the source.

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