Latest news with #Customsdepartment
Scoop
07-08-2025
- Automotive
- Scoop
Proposed Electronic Road User Charges System 'Likely To Become An Expensive Lemon"
The government's proposal to switch all vehicles to road user charges is likely to become an expensive lemon, says the car review website Motoring expert Clive Matthew-Wilson says: 'Let's be clear: this scheme isn't really about collecting road tolls; this scheme is all about privatising the most profitable parts of our roading system.' As Fleur Fitzsimons of the NZ Public Service Association put it: ' The only people who will see any benefit from this scheme are the corporates who take their cut '. Matthew-Wilson adds: 'Whether the corporation controls the entire road or just the revenue collection, the outcome is much the same.' Experience from Australia and elsewhere suggests this toll road model often creates as many problems as it solves. A 2024 report to the New South Wales government stated bluntly: 'Sydney's toll road network is a poorly-functioning patchwork of numerous different price structures that will cost motorists $195 billion … in tolls over the next three and a half decades on top of the billions they have already paid.' Matthew-Wilson says there is no urgent need for the proposed switch to road user charges for all vehicles. 'For the foreseeable future, we're going to have gas stations and petrol-powered cars. Taxing fuel at gas stations is an incredibly efficient way of collecting taxes. The Customs department collects direct payments from the fuel companies. This system is extremely difficult to cheat, because there are clear records every time a vehicle fills up at a gas station.' The current system brings in around $2billion a year, with very low collection costs. 'By comparison, road user charges require that every vehicle has some reliable way of recording the distance it travels. This is not nearly as easy as it sounds.' 'It's easy enough to toll vehicles driving down a section of highway or vehicles entering and leaving a city. But to keep track of millions of vehicles over thousands of roads over millions of kilometres, is a major logistical task that is likely to cost a large percentage of the revenue it collects.' 'Corporations want a quick return and high profits. This is the very opposite of the public interest. The experience in Australia is that privatised toll roads are really costly to use, but don't increase efficiency.' As Dr Scott Elaurant, chair of the Engineers Australia Transport Society put it: ' In reality, we've created private monopolies over essential infrastructure. These companies are motivated to maximise revenue, not deliver public value. With rising toll prices and persistent urban congestion, the inefficiency of this model becomes evident.' Dr Elaurant adds: 'According to the Australian Automobile Association's Affordability Index (June 2023), the average toll-paying household in capital cities spent $66.19 weekly on tolls, while the national average was just $13.24. [These road] users are [not paying based on the quality of the roads], but on where they live or work….public roads [are meant to be] accessible to all [but this basic right is eroded] when tolls become unavoidable...' Matthew-Wilson adds that the people planning the government's toll system appear to assume that all vehicles are easily traceable. 'According to various credible estimates, approximately 9% of cars lack registration, while an estimated 400,000 cars are driving around without a current WoF. My guess is that these figures are conservative.' '[1]You can prosecute these 400,000 drivers, but many of these drivers can't afford to pay the fines they already have. It's common for poor people's vehicles to be seized by bailiffs over unpaid fines for WoF and registration. After one car goes, the same poor families scratch together enough money to buy another car and the process repeats. Remember, you're talking about hundreds of thousands of vehicles here. There's no prison large enough to hold even the worst offenders.' Matthew-Wilson adds that, even if you solve the problem of illegal vehicles, the infrastructure required to collect revenue is likely to be very expensive, with poor returns on investment. 'The transport minister, Chris Bishop, is talking nonsense when he implies that road user charges can be collected solely using a transponder in your car that triggers a charge when you drive down a main road. [2] These sort of transponders, such as the ones used for Sydney's motorway toll collections, have an extremely short range. Such a system would be useless over an entire country." 'Smartphones are equally useless for recording vehicle usage, because about 40% of the country doesn't have cellphone cover. And people lose smartphones. And they break and go flat and get stolen.'[3] Matthew-Wilson believes the only feasible system for recording road user charges over the entire country would require some kind of satellite monitoring system, permanently connected to each vehicle. 'This system would also require very sophisticated systems to gather and sort the data from the millions of vehicles moving around our roads every day.' 'Such a data collection system is also wide open to abuse, regardless of what the politicians tell us". 'Once you have 24/7 electronic surveillance of the national vehicle fleet, it's also inevitable that this technology will be given additional uses. For example, many cars are already fitted with devices that can shut them down without warning. ' There are solid law-enforcement reasons for fitting every car with shut-down technology. But there are frightening implications in such a move. For example, the government could decide it didn't want protestors in a particular time and place. Using remote technology, the government could simply track the protesters then shut down their cars at the side of the road.' 'Governments almost never give up their power but they often find new ways of staying in control. That's a simple reality.' Matthew-Wilson adds that charging vehicles for the distance they travel rather then the fuel they use, could easily mean a huge rise in costs for vehicles such as taxis. 'Most taxis in New Zealand are Toyota petrol hybrids. While the government taxes petrol at the gas station, these petrol hybrids get rewarded for their efficiency. If the government switches to taxing the distance these hybrids travel, these vehicles will be penalised, along with the passengers who ride in them. But, under the government's proposed system, rich people in gas-guzzlers could be rewarded, because they tend to travel shorter distances. Therefore they will pay less. So the owners of taxis will be charged unfairly while the owners of gas-guzzlers will get an easy ride.' [1] In most rural areas there's little or no public transport; having a vehicle is not a luxury but a necessity. Most drivers would rather drive legally, but driving legally requires that you can afford to pay the cost of obtaining a WoF and then the cost of registration. New Zealand's vehicle registration system won't let you register a car if it doesn't have a WoF and it won't let you get a WoF if you don't have a registration. This makes it very easily for a car to simply drop out of the system. It's also getting harder and harder to pass the WoF test, so many poor families simply choose to drive illegally. [2] Transponder-based systems typically use a a tiny transmitter about the size of a deck of cards. This device is placed on the inside of the car. Antennas, or electronic readers, are positioned above each toll lane. These antennas send out radio frequencies that communicate with the transponder. When a vehicle passes, the vehicle's details are therefore recorded and passed to a central computer. However, this kind of system requires a permanent antenna at every major intersection. When there's no antenna to communicate with the transponder, the vehicle becomes invisible to the system once it exceeds the range of the antenna. This makes this system impracticable for use on a nationwide basis. [3] While mobile networks cover 99% of the population, they only cover about 60% of the country's landmass. For example, there's little or no cellphone reception is a 200-kilometre stretch between Fox Glacier and Makaroa through the Haast Pass on the West Coast.
Time of India
18-07-2025
- Time of India
Passenger held at airport with 6kg marijuana
Ahmedabad: A team from the air intelligence unit (AIU) of the Customs department on Thursday seized hydroponic marijuana from a passenger. Based on intel, AIU officers intercepted an Indian national arriving from Don Mueang in Bangkok to Ahmedabad. A check of the passenger's luggage revealed 24 vacuum-sealed packets containing a greenish lumpy substance, which tested positive for marijuana. A total of 6.39kg of the contraband was recovered, a release by the agency said. The contraband was seized, and the passenger arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, the release You Can Also Check: Ahmedabad AQI | Weather in Ahmedabad | Bank Holidays in Ahmedabad | Public Holidays in Ahmedabad
Indian Express
14-07-2025
- Indian Express
How a shipping container, ‘going from Hong Kong to Dubai', landed on Gujarat coast and then in Customs office
On a lazy Sunday, fishermen and residents of Lati village of Gir-Somnath district were amazed to see a unique sight on their seashore — something blue and large, floating towards them on the waves. It was when the object finally got beached on the shoreline during high tide that they realised it was a shipping container that had possibly fallen off from a ship on a trading route off India's western coast. The police were informed of the sighting by fishermen, who knew little of how much interest it would evoke. Everyone from the local police and district administration to the coastal security, intelligence bureau, Customs department and Indian Coast Guard (ICG) were alerted to the foreign object on the moss-covered shoreline of the otherwise quiet coastline of Sutrapada taluka. Officials said that the shipping container had likely fallen off a ship and the details found on the beached box itself stated that it was en route from Hong Kong in China to Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). 'The container was first sighted at about 9 am on July 13 when it was still out at sea. It slowly came closer to shore and was beached during the high tide at about 12 pm. It was beached between Hirakot and Lati villages. The fishermen who spotted it immediately alerted us to it and we reached there along with Sutrapada police, the Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Local Crime Branch (LCB),' said PI MG Patel of the Marine police station. The police also informed the ICG, Customs, and the IB, who reached the spot. This was because such floating materials reaching the shoreline are linked to coastal security. Notably, in August 2022, approximately 363 kg of charas had floated to the coastline of Gir-Somnath, Porbandar and Junagadh districts after being dumped in the sea. In the case of the container, the teams of officials first had to check whether there was any hazardous or banned material in the shipping container. The Customs department officials in Gir-Somnath arrived at the spot at about 2 pm and informed the Assistant Commissioner in Porbandar. The seal of the container was broken by Customs officials and they found a consignment of air pressure tanks labelled 'Aquasky Plus' inside it. About 350 such pressurised tanks were estimated to be inside the container, said police officials. Notably, this is a forest area and is infested by wild animals. Most of the beach area is not motorable. 'So we took help from villagers to cordon the area on Sunday night. On Monday morning, the Customs department began transporting the goods to their office,' said PI Patel, who added that a station diary note had been made about the findings. Customs department officials on Monday transported the tanks to their office on tractors. On Monday, they still did not know who the consignment belonged to or from which ship it had fallen off and nobody had yet approached them claiming ownership as well. An official of the Customs department, on condition of anonymity said, 'We have detained the consignment found in the container. We will wait for the shipping line or owners to contact us and claim the goods. We will complete the formalities and release the goods to them as no hazardous or contraband substance was found in it.'
Time of India
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Mika Singh recalls face-off with Sameer Wankhede at airport, says Customs treated him like 'Dawood Ibrahim' after USD 2 lakh tweet: 'I'm not some idiot'
Mika Singh vs Customs Tweet that triggered chaos Mika Singh reveals he once got a 'tight slap' from his girlfriend: 'I became very loyal after that and would be scared of her' Singer Mika Singh , who is known as much for his music as for his flair for controversy, has once again made headlines, this time for a bold anecdote about an old run-in with Indian Customs officials. In a recent chat with YouTuber Shubhankar Mishra, Mika recounted how a moment of anger led him to tweet that he was entering India with USD 2 lakh in foreign currency, daring officials to stop incident dates back to a time when IRS officer Sameer Wankhede allegedly stopped Mika and his band members at the airport for carrying foreign currency exceeding the permissible limit. 'Sameer Wankhede — he is my good friend now — stopped me once. The members of my band were also with me. At that time, each person was allowed to carry USD 1,000. Now I think the permissible limit is USD 10,000,' Mika recalled being upset when told he couldn't carry the amount, and how news quickly spread outside the airport that he had been 'detained.' 'I hadn't even heard that word before. I was so sad,' he happened next was pure Mika-style drama. 'I became very angry, particularly since I used to do a lot of shows for the Customs department. Then, I tweeted saying, 'I am coming with USD 2 lakh; catch me if you can!'' he shared. True to his prediction, the airport was teeming with officials when he landed. 'It was like Dawood Ibrahim was about to step out wearing gold around the neck,' he clarified that the tweet was made in jest and said he never expected officials to take it seriously. 'I posted it without giving it much thought. I asked them, 'What did you guys think — that I would actually bring USD 2 lakh with me? I'm not some idiot.''In the end, though his dollar joke fizzled out, the officials still found something to act upon. 'I had two bottles of premium scotch whisky with me. They imposed customs duty on that instead,' he concluded with a laugh.
Time of India
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
HC dismisses Churchill's appeal against ‘Costao' release
Panaji: The high court of Bombay at Goa has dismissed an appeal by former chief minister Churchill Alemao , who sought an injunction against the release of the Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer, 'Costao'. The film is based on the story of Customs officer Costao Fernandes, who thwarted a smuggling operation involving Churchill's brother, Alvernaz Alemao. Churchill appealed to the high court against a lower court's order, seeking Rs 100 crore in compensation for damages and defamation, along with interest. He also sought to restrain media houses and publishers from making any defamatory statements regarding him and the entire Alemao family. The former chief minister, representing the entire Alemao family that consists of four brothers — Joaquim, the late Alvernaz, and the late Ciabro — and their spouses and children, stated that the film is solely based on the narrative given by Costao. He claimed it was in complete ignorance of various judgments and harmed his reputation, public image, and political status. He stated that he was exonerated of criminal charges and that it was concluded that no gold was ever confiscated or recovered by Costao. He added that the claim that the Customs department managed to establish a gold smuggling case against the Alemao clan is false. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 10 Mysterious Photos That Cannot Be Explained True Edition Undo Churchill argued that if released, the film has the potential to portray him and his family as 'villains' and would allow producers to make commercial gains at the cost of his and his family's reputation and political career. The defendants stated that the film is a work of fiction, inspired by facts in court records and a version of the incident stated by Costao. The filmmakers also submitted that the work is purely fictional, with safeguards in the form of a disclaimer, and nothing shown on record to draw any likeness to any character in the film or to believe that the character resembles Churchill or any members of his family. The producers released the film on May 1, they told the high court. Justice Valmiki Menezes observed that the film is yet to be released and that Alemao is basing his claim on conjecture that the film would contain defamatory material. The high court also observed that the plaint does not seek any injunction against publishers of the articles, nor does it implead them in the suit, even though they would be the first persons responsible, if the plaintiff's case is believed to be true, for causing defamation.
