What are the pros and cons of customs for international travelers wanting more information? How will the process work?
What are the pros and cons of customs for international travelers wanting more information? How will the process work?
the story So Far: Passenger Name Records Information Regulations, 2022Notified by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) under the Ministry of Finance on 8 August, Airlines are required to mandatorily provide details of all international passengers Customs on flights to and from India. It is intended to prevent and prosecute offenses under the Customs Act, 1962, which are “related to smuggling of narcotics, psychotropic substances, gold, arms and ammunition etc. which directly affect national security”. ”
what is the procedure?
Airlines must transfer “passenger name record information” from their reservation systems to the Customs database. It includes details like PNR (Passenger Name Record) locator code, date of reservation, date of desired journey, all available contacts, billing information including credit card numbers, seat information as well as historical changes in PNR.
The CBIC will establish a database, the National Customs Target Center-Travellers (or database established by CBIC), to collect passenger information for its “risk analysis”. Such data may also be sought by other law enforcement agencies or government departments in India or any other country. The information has to be shared at least 24 hours prior to departure and failure to comply will attract a minimum fine of ₹25,000 and a maximum of ₹50,000 for each act of non-compliance.
How has it been received by airlines?
The proposal to amend the Customs Act, 1962 to allow exchange of passenger data comes five years after the Finance Bill, 2017. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade association representing 290 airlines globally, says it “welcomes the notification of PNR rules by the CBIC, thereby contributing to the implementation of the PNR data program for India”. A proper legal framework is established for this.” It said it should now “end non-standard passenger data requests from airlines by multiple agencies at different airports/stations.” Airlines say the government should deliberate, formulate detailed guidelines and provide a viable timeline for implementation. They also say that since they only transmit the information submitted by the passengers, they should not be penalized if the data fields are missing or if the details provided are fake.
How did Indian agencies collect travellers’ information earlier?
Earlier, the Bureau of Immigration collected passenger details under the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) for foreigners following an amendment in 2008 by the Ministry of Home Affairs. It allowed collection of data relating to foreigners but not traveling Indian citizens. and out of the country. APIS is contained in an airline’s departure control system and captures data when passengers check-in at airports and transfer details to the destination country 15 minutes before flight departure.
But the PNR information is received by the airline’s reservation system from the time a passenger buys a ticket and provides rich data for risk management such as whether the passenger is traveling alone, or has paid in cash and if a passenger is traveling alone. There have been many changes in the travel itinerary. Such information can be shared 24 to 48 hours before departure, giving intelligence agencies sufficient time to conduct risk analysis.
Industry experts say customs globally is the leading agency for collecting PNR-related information, and is better suited than immigration agencies due to the organized nature of crimes and terrorist activities. In addition, the Customs Department in India is considered to be at the fore in the use of IT systems for risk assessment.
What will happen to the privacy of passengers?
CBIC says the format for data exchange between airlines and customs systems is a standard electronic messaging format jointly approved by the World Customs Organization (WCO), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the IATA. Such data shall be retained for a maximum period of five years, after which it shall be disposed of by de-personalization or anonymization, but shall be “re-used in relation to any identifiable matter, threat or risk” for specified purposes. Can be personalized and unmasked, says CBIC.
“Gathering data on all rather than selecting a few passengers is problematic to conduct an unscheduled risk analysis. De-anonymization data is a huge area of concern on two grounds – it raises questions about the type of anonymity that can be easily accessed.” can be reversed; secondly, there needs to be a high barrier to allowing anonymity to end and only to be done on very serious grounds. Furthermore, all this is happening when one looks at data protection legislation And what happens to passengers if there is a data breach,” says Prateek Waghre, policy director, Internet Freedom Foundation. The Center on August 3 passed the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, three years after it was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2019. withdrawn.