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India’s largest precious cargo customs clearing centre will be located in Surat’s diamond bourse.

Surat: In the not-too-distant future, the world’s largest diamond cutting and polishing centre will envy its neighbour (Mumbai). The world-class Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB), which will be built at the Diamond Research and Mercantile (DREAM) city in Khajod, about 15 kilometres from Surat, will house India’s largest Precious Cargo Customs Clearance Centre (PCCCC), which will handle the export and import of precious diamonds and jewellery.

The PCCCC at the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) in Mumbai is stretched over an 8,000 square foot area, according to BDB sources, while the customs clearance facility at SDB is being built on a 25,000 square foot area.

On Thursday, senior customs officers from Ahmedabad and Surat paid a visit to the ‘Diamond Club,’ where a customs clearance centre will be established for the clearance of valuable goods such as diamonds and jewellery.

On Thursday, a team of customs officials led by Dr. Prasad Varwantkar, deputy customs officer, visited the SDB for a verification examination of the customs clearance centre space given to the department. Officials are confident that the customs clearance centre at SDB will be larger and more sophisticated than any other in the country.

“The precious cargo customs clearance facility would be the biggest hub in India,” Mathur Savani, spokesperson and senior core committee member of the SDB diamond bourse committee, said. Customs officers who came to the bourse for onsite verification and primary inspection were convinced, and they said they would recommend adjustments to the internal structure based on their needs.”

According to Savani, the PCCCC will handle approximately Rs 2 lakh crore worth of precious cargo and jewellery per year, including export and import. Exports and imports would eventually reach Rs 4 lakh crore per year.

“One has to visualise the state-of-the-art facilities at India’s largest PCCCC,” said Dinesh Navadia, who chairs the SDB’s finance committee. While the PCCCC in Mumbai covers an area of 8,000 square feet, the one at the SDB will cover 25,000 square feet. Buyers from over 117 nations will come to the SDB to trade raw and polished diamonds directly.”