KARACHI: While upholding the rule of law and justice and adhering to the principle of speedy disposal of cases, the Collectorate of Adjudication resolved around 125 cases and recovered billions of rupees revenue for the national exchequer over the past eight months.
Collector Adjudication Syed Shahanshah Hasnain claimed this during an exclusive interview with Customs Today.
Terming the role and performance of Adjudication Collectorate of great significance in revenue generation, Collector Shahanshah declared that the collectorate was adhered to the policy of ‘no compromise’ on revenue collection. “There is no pendency of cases in the Collectorate of Adjudication, as it has efficiently and timely summoned the parties concerned and settled down their issues accordingly,” the collector informed.
Throwing light on the working strategy of the Collectorate, Shahanshah Hasnain said that the collectorate had particularly focused that the parties should not face unnecessary hearings and delays, adding that it was the top most priority of Adjudication Collectorate to facilitate the parties within the ambit of justice.
Replying to a question, he maintained that the collectorate was endeavouring not to let any case expire, focusing on thoroughly and indepth hearing of cases as per the legal acumen.
“Applying juristic approach and vast study are the core priorities of the collectorate during hearing of cases and preparing verdict,” he added.
“The Collectorate of Adjudication is committed to ensuring justice to the traders and facilitate them while sticking to the rule of law and justice”, Shahanshah elaborated.
The Collector Adjudication revealed that strict directives had been issued to the entire team of Adjudication Collectorate to ensure speedy disposal of cases, adding that the officials of the collectorate were well aware of their responsibilities and providing invaluable technical assistance to their high-ups.
Commenting on WeBOC, Collector Shahanshah said that the introduction of computerised system was a great step forward by the Federal Board of Revenue and Pakistan Customs. He asserted that the chances of corruption had been minimized due to WeBOC as it had shut the door on the possibility of information leakage.
The Collector Adjudication said the hearings of the cases have been conducted speedily and efficiently after the introduction of WeBOC, adding that the collectorate had decided majority of cases in the stipulated timeframe.
“Through a specific password, only the affected party (importer) is authorised to see the verdict on its screen given by the Adjudication Collectorate,” Collector Shahanshah pointed out, adding that before the introduction of computerised system, files of cases used to be prepared manually which often resulted in corruption.
Responding to a question, the Collector Adjudication said that the WeBOC was a perfect indigenous system, which needed amendments as evolution was an ongoing process.
“With the introduction of WeBOC, show-cause notices are being issued directly to the parties and they can see the notices on their screen. However, before the introduction of WeBOC, the notices were served manually, which would take four to six months to decide cases,” he drew a comparison.
