Central Customs Department yet to clear operations, even a year after inauguration

By Bapu Lingaraj Urs

Mysuru: The much-anticipated Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Kadakola near Nanjangud — built at a cost of Rs. 100 crore by the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) — remains non-functional even a year after its inauguration, owing to the apathy of the Central Government’s Customs Department.

Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurating the facility and the depot being fully equipped with direct rail connectivity and infrastructure built to CONCOR standards, operations have not begun due to the Customs Department’s failure to grant the necessary approvals.

This bureaucratic delay has left the industrial sector in and around Mysuru deeply frustrated. The facility was intended to serve as a key logistics hub to streamline import and export                                          processes for hundreds of industries in the region.

Export activity from Mysuru has shown a consistent upward trend. In 2022-23, the district exported goods worth Rs. 6,300 crore, and the figure rose to Rs. 7,000 crore in 2023-24. Nearly 40 percent of these exports are from small and micro industries. Imports, too, have steadily grown alongside.

Major companies like Asian Paints, J.K. Tyre, Rishi Cables and Plastic Materials, and Nestle are among those actively exporting from the region. However, in the absence of a functioning ICD, industrial goods continue to be transported to Chennai, Kochi, and Mangaluru for customs clearance, incurring massive logistical costs and delays.

More than 180 export-oriented industries in Mysuru district had pinned hopes on the Kadakola ICD to ease their shipping burdens. Yet, not a single consignment has been cleared through the facility, leaving the vast yard deserted since its inauguration.

Local industrialists are now raising the alarm over the prolonged inaction. “We were promised faster processing, reduced costs, and local customs clearance. Instead, we’ve been left with a white elephant,” one industry representative remarked.

If operations begin, the area would also see the establishment of a full-fledged Customs House, bringing in officers, support staff, and auxiliary services, giving a boost to local employment and infrastructure.

But with no movement from the Customs Department, the Rs. 100-crore facility stands as a stark symbol of red tape throttling industrial progress.

‘Customs Department officials to visit soon’

There is strong demand for export and import operations at the Kadakola Container Yard and industrialists are eagerly awaiting its commencement. However, the Customs Department is yet to issue the necessary clearance notification. Since it functions under the Union Finance Ministry, certain procedural steps must be completed. A team from the Customs Department in Delhi will visit the site after verifying the submitted documents.

Only after this inspection will legal formalities be finalised, including trade standards, permitted goods categories, regulations and applicable duties. Once these are cleared, full-fledged operations will be authorised. Notably, due to the existing rail connectivity, over seven tonnes of cement have already been imported. If the yard becomes fully operational, many more businesses will join in export and import activities.

—Vijay Kumar, Deputy General Manager, Container Corporation of India

‘Bearing the brunt of bureaucratic inertia’

Due to delays in starting operations at the Kadakola Container Yard, massive investments made here has become unproductive. For over a year, there have been only losses — not a single rupee in returns. Had the yard been functional, the local customs office could have handled export-import clearance directly. Instead, industries are still forced to rely on faraway ports in Chennai, Kochi, or Mangaluru.

At the Government level, it’s just one approval that’s pending. But the delay in moving documents from one department to another has stalled the process. Files don’t come with bearings or wheels — they only move when pushed. Without customs clearance, industries here are bearing the brunt of bureaucratic inertia.

—Suresh Kumar Jain, General Secretary, Mysuru Industries Association