Rathakrishnan Ananth DirectorWCO Cell

Mr. Ananth Rathakrishnan is Director (Customs) in Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. He is involved in policy relating to Customs procedures and trade facilitation matters. He has Bachelor of Engineering in Geo-Informatics and Information Technology and a Master’s in Business Law. As a National Systems Manager in DG Systems (2014-20), he provided key technical inputs to Customs policy and legislation and was instrumental in implementation of various digital initiativesof Customs such as Single Window, AEO Programme, GST Implementation etc. He has played a key role in enabling automation-oriented procedures in customs which had significant positive impact on EODB ranking in India. His recent contribution includesimplementation of Indian Customs’ Turant Customs program, a set of Faceless, Contactless and Paperless Customs procedures towards enhancing trade facilitation. These measures were immensely helpful in the times of COVID Pandemic and was widely appreciated. He has contributed to various international projects in WCO and in many bilateral automation projects. He contributes as a domain co-ordinator for Cross Border Management domain in UNCEFACT. He is also involved in bilateral negotiations relating to Trade Facilitation. He has undergone training in various areas such as Public policy from National University of Singapore, Risk interdiction at Land Borders from Customs and Border Protection, USA etc.