Says wide-ranging steps proved instrumental in effective control and regulation
LAHORE: Collectorate of Customs Preventive is all set to positively achieve financial year 2016-17 targets. Wide-ranging measures have also been taken to curtail smuggling and improve anti-narcotics operations, imports and exports related functions at Air Freight Unit (AFU) and Land Freight Units (LFU) besides putting right man to the right post and de-centralize powers among the supervisory staff for effective control and regulation.
These views were expressed by Collector of Customs Zulfikar Ali Chaudhary while exclusively talking to Customs Today here.
Chaudhary is known as one of the most competent, upright and outstanding officers of the Customs Service, having extensive experience in various customs related affairs. Earlier, he served as the collector of Customs Faisalabad where he took a number of far-reaching measures that proved instrumental in improving revenue collections and curtailing smuggling under the limits of the Collectorate.
The collector of Customs said the Collecorate is all set to achieve financial year 2016-17 target as it has collected six percent additional revenue compared to the last financial year’s collection, however, the collaborate is 3 percent behind the target of current financial year for which all-out efforts are being made to achieve the target.
He said that all the officers and officials of field formations of the Collectorate, putting their maximum efforts, have been able to collect Rs.3.5 billion on account of duty and taxes which is 15% more than assigned revenue target for the month of May, 2017.
The present collection of customs duty in the month of May, 2017 shows 39 percent increase, if compared with the collection in the corresponding month of last year, whereas, overall revenue collection in the month of May, 2017 has also increased by 49% from the corresponding month of last year, the collector informed.
“As for as ASO of the Collectorate is concerned, it has been re-organized and officials with good reputation have been deployed at all levels”, he said adding, special attention was paid on revamping of ASO and anti-narcotics functions of the Collectorate to safeguard the country from the clutches of smuggling and drug abuse in an effective manner.
New checking/patrolling squads have also been formulated with a specific focus, to intercept the non-customs paid (NCP) vehicles and to streamline the much sensitive intelligence gathering process so that the Government exchequer can be safeguarded by way of effectively checking the inflow of all imported commodities by illegal means, the collector highlighted.
To a query, the collector Customs Preventive said that the measures have definitely created deterrence against the elements involved in the smuggling business.
As a result the ASO staff seized and detained illegally imported goods worth over Rs 99 million including 23 vehicles having value more than Rs33.1 million, the collector added.
The same ASO team raided various godowns including M/s Qadri Hajvery Goods Forwarding Agency, Railway Godowns, Badami Bagh, Lahore and seized huge quantity of foreign origin cigarettes valuing Rs10 million, he said, adding, that 560 mobiles of Samsung brands valuing Rs8.4 million were impounded from Karachi and FIR lodged against the accused persons.
Talking about the performance of Customs GPO, the collector said that GPO is one area which is usually ignored, however Customs GPO has also been instructed to be vigilant and avoid taking risk of clearing anything illegal. Recently sizeable quantity of cocaine and marijuana was recovered from the incoming parcels, therefore, FIRs have been lodged accordingly and the “Investigation and prosecutions Cell” is probing/investigating the matter to bring the actual facts into light and to put the culprits behind the bars, the collector informed, the collector underscored.
Answering another question about LFU and AFU, the collector said that imports and exports from AFU are being examined very carefully in order to minimize the slightest chance of mis-declaration and smuggling.
“Recently when informed that goods were being mis-declared, we immediately took strong action and lodged FIRs against the elements involved in the crime,” he stated
Although trade at the LFU Wagha is slow, we have never compromised on timely provision of the facilitations to traders and passengers, Chaudhary said, explaining that, recently Sikh yatris visited their holy place in Pakistan, all of the staff was there to help them which certainly improved soft image of Pakistan.
