KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Iftikhar Ahmed Vohra has urged Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Tariq Bajwa to take notice of the harassment being caused by Land Customs and Directorate of Intelligence & Investigation.
In a statement issued, the KCCI President said that representatives of Goods Carriers Association and many of KCCI members, who are in imports business, complained that the officers were constantly creating problems for the importers whose goods were destined to upcountry as their imported consignments along with transport vehicles were constantly being impounded for one to two months and even more at various check posts in Hyderabad, Sukkur, Multan and Faisalabad.
He said that containers of genuine importers were being regularly intercepted at various check posts in Sindh and Punjab despite the fact that these imported goods have already been thoroughly examined and cleared from the ports in Karachi after completing all the necessary legal formalities/ requirements.
Terming the officers manning check posts in Hyderabad, Sukkur, Multan and Faisalabad as ‘extortionists’, President KCCI said that importers were being constantly harassed by corrupt officers who impound containers until the concerned importers succumb to their demand for bribe, resulting in delaying many consignments and giving severe losses to the concerned importer.
“Instead of creating problems for genuine importers through check posts in various cities of the country to look for smuggled goods, the authorities should establish these check posts on borders and monitoring of Afghan Transit Trade only so that the menace of smuggling could effectively be curbed”, advised Iftikhar Vohra.
President KCCI underscored that transport was the lifeline of the country’s economy. Patriotism demands that decision makers in Islamabad must realize this and ensure that the process does not come to stand still at any point of time.
He was of the opinion that the authorities should refrain from creating more trouble for the already perturbed business community, who are struggling hard to stay afloat in an extremely unconducive business environment and they should come forward and facilitate the business community as far as possible within the limits of the law of the land.
