ISLAMABAD: Assistant Collector of Islamabad Dry Port Yawar Nawaz has made it mandatory for consignments of imported fabrics to go through laboratory testing while strictly directing the staff at the dry port to ensure that the procedures of customs clearance are being properly followed.
As per directives, the duties/taxes levied on the import of textile fabrics will be subject to laboratory reports.
It has recently come into notice of the port authorities that the customs authorities including customs intelligence have encountered numerous cases of duties/taxes evasion through mis-declaration by fabric importers.
Consequently, Assistant Collector Yawar Nawaz has decided to test each and every fabric consignment in the customs intelligence forensic laboratory.
The importers will also be provided with the same sample so that if they wanted they could confirm the test through private laboratories and compare it against customs laboratory reports.
Assistant Collector Yawar Nawaz has warned all the departments concerned against taking any kind of risk in regard to proper examinations.
According to sources, levy of customs duty and other taxes until recently was mostly relied upon guesses of experienced customs officials. In such circumstances the fabric importers were taking their chances in dodging the authorities.
Recently, officials of Customs Intelligence and Investigation came upon a case in which the containers were cleared through customs but when the officials rechecked the consignments, massive mis-declaration was revealed. The containers were then held.
On thorough enquiry into the matter by the customs intelligence officials it was revealed that it was not a case of corruption within the department. Instead the importers took advantage and tried to bully the customs officials at Islamabad Dry Port in which they initially seemed to succeed until they were caught.
Later, the Customs Intelligence and Investigation recommended that in case of customs clearance of imported fabric, experience of the officials alone should not be counted anymore.
