Mandatory for airlines to give details of international passengers to customs before the flight
To prevent the law offenders from fleeing the country, from August 8 onwards, all airlines will have to mandatorily share PNR details of passengers with Indian customs authorities 24 hours prior to departure of international flights. The information, which shall include name, contact details, and payment details, will be used by the Customs department for improved surveillance and risk assessment of passengers entering or leaving the country, according to a Finance Ministry notification dated August 8. With this, India joins 60 other countries that collect PNR details of international passengers.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), under the Finance Ministry, on August 8 notified the ‘Passenger Name Record Information Regulations, 2022’, which aims at “risk analysis” of passengers to prevent economic and other offenders from fleeing the country as well as check any illicit trade such as smuggling. ‘The National Customs Targeting Centre-Passenger‘, set up by the CBIC, will process information for the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of offences under the Customs Act and also for the law enforcement agencies or government departments or any other country, said the notification.
Airlines at present are required to share passenger information limited to name, nationality, and passport detail in advance with the immigration authorities. The government had proposed the requirement of airlines sharing PNR details of passengers 24 hours in advance in the Union Budget for 2017 but a formal process for communication of the passenger data has only been formalized now with the notification issued on Monday.
“Every aircraft operator shall transfer the passenger name record information… Of passengers they have already collected such information in the normal course of business operations, to the designated Customs systems,” the regulations said, adding every aircraft operator will have to seek registration with customs for its implementation.
The information to be shared by airline companies for both inbound and outbound international flights include the name of the passenger, billing/ payment information (credit card number), date of issue of the ticket as well as intended travel, and names of other travelers in the same PNR, travel itinerary for the PNR, contact details like email id, mobile number, details of travel agency, baggage information and code share information (when one airline sells seats on another air carrier’s flight).
While the regulation did not state the reason for seeking such information is to prevent bank loan defaulters from fleeing the country to avoid prosecution. According to information furnished by the Government in Parliament, a total of 38 economic offenders, including Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya, and Mehul Choksi, fled the country in the last five years. Industrialist and former MP Vijay Mallya left the country on March 2, 2016, the day a clutch of public sector banks moved the Debt Recovery Tribunal to recover Rs.9,000 crore unpaid dues to his now-defunct Kingfisher Airline. Mehul Choksi, one of the prime accused in the alleged over Rs.13,000-crore PNB loan fraud case, too fled to Antigua and Barbuda just as ED and CBI zeroed in on him.
“Every aircraft operator shall transfer passenger name record information not later than 24 hours before the departure time; or at the departure time – wheels off,” the regulation said, adding the information would be retained in the Customs systems for up to five years. The notification further said that for each act of non-compliance with these regulations, the aircraft operators would have to pay a penalty of a minimum of Rs.25,000 and a maximum of Rs.50,000.
With regard to sharing of information with other law enforcement agencies or foreign states, the regulation said that the National Customs Targeting Centre-Passenger may share the relevant information on a “case-to-case basis” with other law enforcement agencies or government departments of India or any other country.
PGurus is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with all the latest news and views
For all the latest updates, download PGurus App.
- Supreme Court rejects plea to tally all VVPAT slips with EVM votes; says ‘no going back to paper ballot’ - April 26, 2024
- US report citing human rights violations is deeply biased: India - April 25, 2024
- Kotak Mahindra Bank shares tank 13%. Market Cap erodes by Rs.37,721 cr post-RBI action - April 25, 2024
Great Idea Sreeram, real time info.
How about insisting passengers to do biometric verification (AADHAR & PASSPORT) & link it crimes database, with face recognition tools & flash info on TWITTER / FACEBOOK ……& in all Whatsapp groups !! and automatic play on all M* mosque loudspeakers !!!
Great integration ideas for others to implement !!
Why to share info ? Make the data LIVE & give full access to enforcement agencies (specific positions) for them to monitor live data instead of exchange of info through emails (i.e. going to trash bin), with some bells & whistles to alert airline agencies to catch them as they approach for boarding pass.