LAHORE: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has said that the existing Customs lab at Karachi had been upgraded.
The FBR disseminate the information in response to Federal Tax Ombudsman notice the other day .
The FTO has directed the tax authorities to expedite setting up customs laboratories at collectorates. In its recommendations, the FTO office directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to expedite the task of setting up of customs laboratories in the remaining customs collectorates and up-gradation of existing customs labs as per international best practices.
The FBR has also been advised to assign administrative control to Member (Customs) to save the lab officials from local pressures. The FTO made this recommendations in an own motion investigation initiative to investigate systemic maladministration of the Customs Administration for failing to establish customs laboratories in the Customs Collectorates as per World Customs Organization (WCO) guidelines, besides failure to upgrade the existing customs lab functioning at MCC Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad.
Absence of quality laboratory facilities not only compromise collection of legitimate due government revenue but also put at risk import/export controls, environmental protection, control of dangerous goods.
