ISLAMABAD: By adopting modern techniques and developing coordination with law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to curb the smuggling in country, the revenue generation in shape of customs duty can be increased by four times.
This was stated by Model Customs Collectorate Collector Arslan Subuctagaen during an interview with Customs Today, adding that Islamabad Customs has inked agreement with the law enforcement agencies i.e. local police, motorway police and National Highway Authority (NHA) to tighten noose around smugglers.
In this regard, a wireless control room has been developed to have direct communication to make liaison among motorway police, NHA and customs officials, he informed. The officials of motorway police and NHA through this system could inform the customs officials directly, if they found any movement of allegedly smuggled items on the roads, he said.
To curb the smuggling in region, a high-level meeting was held in Islamabad, where Islamabad Customs collector, Rawalpindi-Islamabad DIG and Motorway Police DIG were presented. All top officials discussed the matters aiming at eliminating the menace of smuggling and tax evasion and agreed on conducting joint action. They also signed an agreement in this regard.
During recently launched anti-smuggling campaign from February 17 to March 17, the Islamabad Customs confiscated various smuggled items worth Rs 102.164, the collected revealed. He further said the only entrance point from Khyber Pakhtunkhawa to Islamabad was called base point 26 (26 number chungi), where a strong vigilance was maintained resultantly seizing the non-duty paid items, including cloth, black tea, tyres and tubes, auto parts, food grains, cigarettes, electronic goods, mobile phones and accessories, electronic goods, soft drinks and blankets.
Collector Arslan said that the department was focusing on solving the pending cases in order to facilitate the exporters, adding that a big number of cases were solved till the end of December, 2015.
The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) and Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) have assured of their fully cooperation to the Islamabad Custom to boost the revenue of country, he said
By the end of June, 2016, the Islamabad Customs will shift 90 percent of its manual data regarding imports and exports on new Web Based One Customs (WeBOC) software, which will not only facilitate the users but also bring efficiency in official work, he said.
Collector Arslan while summing up his views said “Islamabad Customs is working with a mission to curb smuggling, passenger facilitation and trade facilitation and all of these efforts will play an effective role in generating more revenue for the betterment of country.
