Order to release the ship of organic rice stopped at Kandla Port

18-Oct-2024 11:12 AM

Ahmedabad. A new twist has come in the case of alleged irregularities in the export of organic rice. The Customs Commissioner of Kandla has asked the officials of Deen Dayal (Kandla) port to release one of the two merchant ships - MV Della, which has been stopped there since August.

In a letter sent to the traffic manager of the port, the commissioner has said that the other ship - SW South Wind 1 can be allowed to depart only after obtaining the release order from the Gujarat High Court.

The Customs Commissioner has said in his letter that the Special Intelligence and Investigation Branch (SIIB) has no objection to the MV Della ship and after completing other customs and port formalities, it can be allowed to depart for the destination.

It is noteworthy that both the above ships were stopped at Kandla port on 5 August 2024 by the officials of the Revenue Vigilance Department.

Actually, at that time, a complaint was made that there was irregularity or fraud in the export of organic rice and some exporters were shipping general grade white rice in the name of organic rice. After this, both the ships were stopped and investigation of the rice loaded in them was started.

Last week, the Gujarat High Court ordered the arrest of the SW South Wind 1 ship when two exporting firms claimed compensation of a total of 18 lakh dollars.

These firms argued that their consignments were stopped at the port for a long time due to someone else's mistake.

The Customs Commissioner has informed the port's traffic manager that the Additional Commissioner has resolved this matter and the guilty companies have also paid the compensation,

but the ship should be stopped till the decision of the Gujarat High Court comes and it should be allowed to depart only after the order comes.