Committed to improving trade facilitation: FM Sitharaman

CHENNAI: The Union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi government is committed to improving the trade facilitation facilities for stakeholders, including customs officers and trading communities, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday.

Attending the stone-laying ceremony of the nine-storeyed ‘Vaigai’ Customs House Complex to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 92 crore, Nirmala said the building would be a testimonial for energy-efficient, making it a total green building and prevent pollution. ‘Vaigai’ would be connected to the Customs Department headquarters, she added.

“This would be a first-of-its-kind building with state-of-the-art facilities and would be a template for all future Customs’ Department building projects. ‘Vaigai’ Customs House Complex will facilitate every stakeholder to get their businesses completed,” she said, adding the 100-year-old building adjacent to it would soon get a facelift.

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) chairman Vivek Jhori, Nitin Gupta of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Income Tax and Customs department senior officials participated in the function.