In a significant development at Mahakumbh 2025, Shri Shashank Priya, Special Secretary & Member, CBIC, visited the GST & Customs Pavilion.
During his visit, Shashank Priya interacted with officers at the GST Help Desks, toured the pavilion, and commended the ongoing awareness campaign and extensive outreach initiatives.
What is the GST & Customs Pavilion?
The theme of the GST & Customs Pavilion is “Facilitating Trade, Fostering Economy”, reflecting the organisation’s commitment to support trade and boost the economy.
This pavilion aims to provide a platform for taxpayers to learn about GST and Customs processes, resolve grievances and gain insights into career opportunities in the Customs and GST Department. The pavilion features six helpdesks with onsite availability of experts on GST, Customs, GST Network, and ICEGATE, to ensure that the visitors get comprehensive guidance on these issues.
GST & Customs Pavilion: Key Features
Educational Videos: Six videos on GST and Customs processes have been released to enhance taxpayer awareness. Most importantly, the tutorial videos have been released in 10 regional languages, besides from Hindi and English.
Helpdesks: Six helpdesks are available to address taxpayer queries and provide guidance on rules and processes. Taxpayers can visit the pavilion to resolve their queries and doubt on the spot.
Career Guidance: A special counter is set up to guide youth about career opportunities in the Customs and GST Department.
Digital Displays: The pavilion showcases achievements and initiatives of the GST and Customs department through interactive digital displays.
To engage and entertain the visitors, the Pavilion will also spread awareness through Nukkad Natak, Magic Show, Puppet Show, QUIZ, Caricature Artist and informative brochures on GST and Customs, and other activities to attract children.
In a first, CBIC introduced Red Panda as official mascot to represent the GST & Customs at the India International Trade Fair 2024. The Red Panda embodies the values of duty, precision, and trust — Red Panda’s dual nature, gentle yet strong, reflects the mission of the CBIC to balance delicacy with strength, and ensure the free flow of trade while maintaining vigilant oversight.
