The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, & Department of Commerce, & Directorate General of Foreign Trade in its public notice on 25 September 2019, has amended para 2.54 of the Hand Book of Procedures, 2015-2020. The para deals with installing and operationalizing of Radiation Portal Monitors and Container Scanners.
Radiation Portal Monitors are set up like portals that any vehicle transporting goods has to pass through to see whether it is cleared of hazardous materials or not. They are set up in panels on both sides of the roads and scan the vehicles as they pass through them. Container Scanners are used to scan to find what type of material is actually inside the containe. Both Radiation Portal Monitor and Container scanner are mandatory to be installed in all the Sea Port to prevent the illegal transfer of nuclear weapons and other hazardous materials. As per this notice, Director General of Foreign Trade has extended the deadline for installing and operationalizing of radiation portal monitors and container scanners at the existing designated sea ports namely Chennai, Cochin, Ennore, JNPT, Kandla, Mormugao, Mumbai, New Mangalore, Pradip, Tuticorin, Vishakhapatnam, Pipava, Mundra and Kolkata till 31 December, 2019. Previously, the due date was 31st October 2018. Failing the installation of both equipment, the port will be derecognised for the purpose of import of un-shredded metallic scrap w.e.f. 01.01.2020.
Click here to read Notice.
