Kerala Government Sought Information Related To Importing Dates

Kerala government sought information related to the case related to importing dates through RTI.

The Left Front Government of Kerala has sought detailed information from the Customs Department under the Right to Information (RTI) on cases registered in connection with the import of dates through the local consulate of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This is probably the first case of its kind when such information has been sought by RTI from a central government on behalf of a state government.

The Customs Department had recently registered two cases against the state government. The government is accused of accepting the Holy Quran and thousands of kilograms of dates imported for personal use by the staff of the consulate.

RTI was filed for information on January 28

The state’s Additional Protocol Officer AP Rajeevan filed an RTI for information on January 28. Rajeevan has asked six questions related to the cases.

The state government has sought to know who was responsible for non-payment of customs duty when goods used in diplomatic offices like embassies/consulates are paid without paying duty.

The state government has also sought to know how many people have been summoned so far under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962, in connection with the investigation of importation of dates through the UAE Consulate.

Detailed information about these people and posts as well as their departments have also been sought.

The Customs Department says that the state protocol department exempted 18,000 kg of dates imported in 2017 from tax.

A similar exemption was also granted to the baggage of four thousand kilograms in 2020. The Holy Quran was ordered in it.

Violation of money laundering and FCRA along with custom law

The Customs Department says that the delivery of the imported goods for personal use by the embassy was taken by the state government officials, which is a clear violation of the law.

This is a violation of the Customs Law as well as the Money Laundering and Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).

State government officials are well aware that they cannot accept anything directly from the government of another country.

The department questioned the state’s Higher Education Minister Katie Jalil on November 9 last year in this case.