What is the work of Preventive Officer in Custom Department?

Preventive Officers are recruited under the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in India through Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level Examination (SSC-CGL) every year. This examination appoints preventive officers under the post code ‘L’, as per the vacancies in the department. Along with Preventive Officers the examination recruits candidates in the Central Excise Inspector and Examiner posts. Preventive Officer works in the Custom department, which is an authority responsible for collecting tariff and controlling the flow of goods and items, in and out of the country. The preventive Officers make sure that there is no violation of law in terms of carrying goods from and to the country. There are different laws and regulations of import and export in various countries of the world and are enforced by the customs authority in the country. Customs are often governed by International laws and government agreements. It also sets the duty or tariff of importing and exporting of goods from one part of the country to the other.

Role and Responsibility of Preventive Officers

Preventive Officers are given either filed posting or office posting. Just like other SSC offered jobs, if the candidates are posted in office as preventive officers, they need to be limited to paper work and handling of files. Many candidates prefer a desk job, handling papers, documents and laws regarding the customs and detention in the country. The candidates who are posted in field need to be very active and far sighted. They need to keep an eye on the fact that there is no smuggling happening under their nose and keep a tight vigil on the suspects. There are some executive powers like, arrest, search, seizure or detention of things or people are given to the Preventive Officers working in the field. The officers can search or arrest any person, about whom they have any intelligence or report of miscreant. The preventive officers need to be always in their uniform to access the power given to them by the ministry.

Job Profile of Preventive Officers

It is an adventurous job position and requires courage and hard work in part of the candidates to bust any illegal operation happening under their reign. They need to be cautious that no smuggling of things or person could take place inside or outside the country. The Preventive Officers are posted at various sea ports, airports and other entry-exit points, from where the smuggling can take place. Preventive Officers are mostly posted in the 11 major coastal cities of India namely, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Kochin etc. They are often entitled to search the cargo ships, boats, air carriers to find if any illegal substance is being carried out or is bought from the country. The illegal substance is seized by the Preventive Officers and they are responsible for the auctioning of the same, which in turn provides revenue of national treasure.