Custom agencies in Europe, Asia to crack down on toxic toys: Official

Panaji: Customs authorities in Asia and Europe have resolved to crack down on international consignments of toxic toys that are harmful to children, a top official of the Indian enforcement agency said on Friday.

Speaking to reporters on the conclusion of the 11th Asia Europe meeting (ASEM) of director generals/commissioners of customs in Goa, Central Board of Excise and Customs Chairman Najib Shah said that the meet of officials from 41 countries from the two continents evolved a series of action points for exchange of best practices and capacity-building in areas of trade facilitation and supply chain security.

"There was a proposal about the role of customs in identifying good practices in controlling product safety. This is in context of harmful toys that use toxic colours or vehicle spare parts using poor quality metal. So it was agreed to focus on such areas also," Shah said.

Shah also highlighted the importance of ASEM in meeting the challenges posed by fast changing world trade, safety and security requirements, information technology and communication.

"During the meeting, India and Korea signed a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) to facilitate boosting international trade and faster customs clearances between the two countries," Shah said.

Other issues related to authorized economic operators, coordinated border management, intellectual property rights, trans-boundary waste shipment, joint customs operations against counterfeit goods, paperless customs and passenger name record were also discussed, he said.