After several mysterious drones sightings were reported around IGI airport in Delhi recently and these flying devices turning out be emerging as a major security threat, the government has decided to revise the customs declaration form to include drones in the list of `prohibited and dutiable’ items, with effect from April 1.
As per the notification issued by finance ministry’s revenue department on March 1, the Central Board of Excise and Customs amended the customs baggage declaration regulations 2013. Now, drones have been added as a commodity to be declared and strict action will follow if a passenger tries to smuggle these in without informing.
“All flyers those who are carrying dutiable or prohibited goods only require to fill it in, as per the new rules. Drones, if allowed to be freely brought in, can cause law and order problems. Usually, high-end drones are imported from countries such as USA, Germany and Japan by government agencies for surveillance and law and order operations,” said a police official.
