LAHORE: Collectorate of Customs Appraisement Additional Collector Azmat Tahira has said that facilitating the business community by all means in clearance of consignment in minimum time and registration of firms on WeBOC is top priority of authorities at the NLC Dry port.
She was talking to a group of businessmen led by Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice President Faheem Ur Rehman Saigal at the NLC Dry Port on Monday.
Tahira said that during the last two years the customs appraisement has worked hard to ensure minimum time in clearance of goods and articles and easy registration of the firms.
Human interference due to the proper implementation of WeBOC has been reduced significantly thereby reducing the cost of doing business, she added.
She said that businessmen are welcomed as all officers especially collector Jamil Nasir himself is easily accessible for the resolution of genuine grievances of the business community.
Answering a question of the LCCI VP about the 0.9 percent additional tax in Punjab, she said that the Customs authorities would take up the issue with the top authorities in their proposals; however, the business community itself should also take up the issue at higher forums.
The LCCI VP while expressing his grave concern over the seizure of the containers cleared by the customs authorities at Port Qasim. He said that customs anti-smuggling and customs intelligence have been harassing the genuine importers and impounding their containers despite their clearance by the Karachi Customs authorities is an injustice which is a great blow to the legal business activities. He said that the smugglers are facing no hurdles in conducting illegal business but the genuine businessmen are finding legal business a hard nut to crack.
The additional collector vowed to extend all out corporation in resolving the issue of illegal seizure of the cleared consignment by Customs ASO and Customs Intelligence and Investigation. “We will take up the issue with the concerned sections of customs including Customs ASO and Customs I&I,” she said, adding that the major objective of the customs authorities is to facilitate the business and trade.
Faheem Ur Rehman Saigal and his group was also given briefings on various newly installed facilities pertaining to WeBOC and registration of firms for the business men. The LCCI VP also invited the additional collector and her team at the LCCI for further streamlining affairs between both the sides.
On the occasion, Deputy Collector Sobia Kiran, businessmen including Arshad Bhatti, Ahsan, Naeem Hanif and others were also present on the occasion.
