KARACHI: The WeBOC module exclusively designed for the Post Clearance Audit (PCA) department of Pakistan Customs is in the final phase of testing at present and it is expected to be operational soon, PCA Director Directorate Pervez Esbhani informed Customs Today.
The installation of the PCA module on the automated Web Based One Custom (WeBOC) would help bring not only transparency to the work of the Directorate General of PCA, which was established in 2008 but got operational over two years later would also help bring transparency, Pervez Esbhani added. The automation of the PCA department would also help ease the flow of work as well as help save enormous amount of time and energy required due to processes being handled being manually today, he added.
According to Pervez Esbhani, PCA defends decisions challenging the recovery of revenue that could have been remained uncovered for whatever reasons. There are around 70-80 hearings a month at three primary adjudication, appeals and Custom Appellate Tribunal and PCA has to defend the justification for issuing the Contravention Report, he added.
Explaining the process, Pervez Esbhani explained that PCA issues Audit Observation to imports or exporters concerned, as the case may be though it comprises mostly importers, about non-payment of duty of taxes which should had been paid but were not for clearing a consignment. If the importer/exporter manages to satisfy the PCA no further action is taken. However, if importer/exporters fails to satisfy the PCA, the PCA prepares a Contravention Report and sends it to the Adjudication Collectorate which issues a show cause notice to the importer/exporter. Once this happens, the PCA has no further role to play except defend its decision at the three for a mentioned above.
“The primary aims and objectives of the PCA is to detect and investigate commercial and trade-related frauds and propose measures to prevent its occurrence; develop a comprehensive monitoring mechanism to verify the correctness of trade related declarations; assist the Federal Board of Revenue to evolve, develop and update systems, procedures and organizational structure meant to scrutinize and ensure compliance of the trade with the national trade laws, procedures and controls and the last but not the least the recovery of revenues that may have had escaped, he added.
