Question

COFEPOSA stands for __________.
A. Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities
B. Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Procurement of Smuggling Activities
C. Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Preservation of Smuggling Activities
D. Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Proclamation of Smuggling Activities

Answer 1

Hint: COFEPOSA is an Act of Parliament which came into force on 19th December 1974. It was passed during the administration of Indira Gandhi and its purpose was to retain Foreign Currency and prevent smuggling.

Complete answer:
The Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act was passed when violations of Foreign Exchange regulations and smuggling had deleterious effects on the National economy and thereby a serious threat to the security of the State. This Act extends to the whole of India and provides for preventive detention in certain cases for the purposes of conservation of Foreign Exchange and prevention of smuggling activities and for matters connected therewith.

The COFEPOSA Act does not empower the authority to punish a person without a trial and this isn’t a punitive act. This act instructs the Central Government and each State Government to constitute one or more Advisory Boards, whenever necessary, each of which shall consist of a Chairman and two other persons. This particular act is an economic adjunct of the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), a very controversial act, which was enacted in 1971 and repealed in 1977, but despite that COFEPOSA still remains. Therefore, COFEPOSA stands for Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities.

Hence, the correct option is option A.

Note: On 12th October 2019 six persons were booked under COFEPOSA Act by the Central Government in connection with the large-scale smuggling of gold through the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in early 2019. The order targeted a customs official and five alleged members of a Dubai based gold smuggling ring.