Jamshedpur, Sept. 16: Exports from the city-based inland container depot (ICD) will get a boost with Tata International deciding to do business at the “dry port”.

Tata International, the export arm of the Tata group of companies, has asked the customs and central excise department to give the go-ahead to undertake exports of industrial units of the region, mainly the Tata group of companies.

The Union commerce and finance ministries had recentlygiven the green signal to establish the ICD facility in the city for export and import transaction. Under the ICD facility, exporters can book the consignment for shipment without taking the material to the ports. Container Corporation of India, a wing of the Indian Railways, and central excise departments shoulder the responsibility ofsafe transportation of the material from the ICD to the ports.

The ICD began to function in May. During the four months, Usha Martin Industries had availed of the services of the ICD to export items.

Sources said Tata International had last month sought the permission to export from the ICD. “The application is under process. The department is likely to grant permission to the company by the end of this month,” a senior official of the customs and central exercise department said. According to the central excise rules, Tata International would initially give a temporary licence to export goods from the dry port for a year.

“During the period, the department would evaluate the services and the quantum of exports handled by the company. After a year, we would scrutinise the company’s services and then issue them a permanent licence,” officials of the department said.

The commissioner of the Jamshedpur office of customs and central excise, D.K. Marandi, acknowledged that the department had received an application from Tata International. “The talks are in a preliminary stage. Nothing can be discussed at this juncture,” Marandi said. However, sources said Tata International would initially handle about 250 containers of export items from Tata Steel and about 50 to 60 containers of Tinplate Company of India (TCIL) each month.

“Tata International would also explore the possibilities to handle exports of non-Tata group of companies that export items,” a senior functionary of the department said.