Only 27 pc passengers at intl airport aware of customs rules: Survey

There seems to be an awareness gap among passengers about customs norms with a survey by a government agency revealing that only 27 per cent of the respondents travelling at the city international airport claim to fully know them.

“There is a gap between what passengers should know and what is currently available. While only 27 per cent were fully aware of the Indian Customs rules and regulations, what is permissible and not permissible, the vast majority was either partly aware or unaware of the legal requirements,” according to a survey initiated by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC).

CBEC, along with a management school, conducted a survey about the Passenger Satisfaction Levels (PSL) of customs clearance process at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), which is one of the largest airports in India in terms of the international passenger traffic.

The survey, whose report was released on May 21, also found that three areas where passengers expected improvements are access and availability of information, speed of process and greater transparency.

The survey’s scope was to assess PSLs with the customs clearance process. It was conducted for a week and its sample size involved 731 passengers.

While only 28 per cent of passengers felt that their experience with Mumbai customs vis-a-vis international customs was much better, 41 per cent passengers felt that the experience was somewhat better, it said.

Only 4 per cent travellers felt that it was worse.

The survey also found that 35 per cent of the respondents mentioned that the clearance process has drastically improved and 37 per cent said there was a marginal improvement.

About 50 per cent passengers took 1 to 14 minutes for their immigration clearance while 59 per cent took the same time in baggage handling and 38 per cent in customs clearance, the survey found.