Collector Zulfiqar Ali Chaudhary says Faisalabad Customs shows exceptional performance by seizing items worth Rs 232 million in FY2016
FAISALABAD: The Model Customs Collectorate is paying special attention to boost anti-smuggling activities in order to make the region well protected against smuggling.
This was stated by Faisalabad Customs Collector Dr Zulfiqar Ali Chaudhary during an interview with Customs Today. He said, “We are always busy in motivating and preparing anti-smuggling and appraisement officers to obtain maximum results”.
He also stressed coordination with other law enforcement agencies in order to curb smuggling and illegal trade. He added that effective strategies were being designed to improve the performance of the department.
The collector shared latest performance what he termed that the Faisalabad Customs excelled and outnumbered all collectorates of the country in prevention of smuggling, especially when it came to impound the vehicles, miscellaneous items in terms of value and quantity, as it seized items worth Rs 232.576 million and registered almost 227 seizure cases during fiscal year 2015-16.
The collector said that the Faisalabad Customs impounded 90 non-duty paid vehicle under Section 16 worth Rs 71.70 millions involving duty/taxes amounting to Rs 91.780 million. At least 46 others vehicle being used for smuggling were impounded under Section 157, worth Rs 55.74 millions involving duty/taxes amounting to Rs 11.547 million, he added. He further said that the collectorate also seized 91 contraband and miscellaneous items valued at Rs 104.568 million.
The collectorate also seized 152,260 kilogram of cloth worth Rs 20.89 million, 25,180kg food grains worth Rs 481,306, 37,710kg Indian tea worth Rs 8.68 million, tyres & tubes worth Rs 2.14 million, auto parts worth Rs 3.89 million, timber worth Rs 486,000, 83,500 litres of diesel worth Rs 4.58 million, 27,539 cartons of cigarettes worth Rs 1.62 million, electronics worth Rs 3.4 million, blankets worth Rs 209,230, dinner sets worth Rs 655,000, 3138 cans of gutka worth Rs 3.34 million, gutka of various brands worth Rs 2.34 million and others miscellaneous items worth Rs 54.11 million, he explained.
The Anti-Smuggling Organisation (ASO) conducted raids on different routes including Quetta-Qila Saifullah, Zhob, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffarahgarh, Mianwali, Kot Bannu, Bhakkar, Sirai Muhajir, Jhang City, Nowshera, Attock Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Bhera Interchange and kot Momin, Collector Zulafiqar said. He added that the ASO recovered smuggled goods from truck, buses, and containers.
Highlighting the performance of Faisalabad Customs Appraisement, he informed that it exceeded revenue collection target by 123 percent during fiscal year 2015-16 under the leadership of Deputy Collector Pirzada Omar Qasmi. It collected Rs 9,375.77 million against the assigned target of Rs 7,639.73 million.
Collector Zulfiqar Ali Choudhary appreciated the performance of Deputy Collector Omar Qasmi who supervised the branch with effective strategy.
He added, “We achieved the target set by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) with a significant ratio. No doubt, we are working hard and successfully collecting the revenue more than the target set by the government”.
He also advised whole ASO staff to remain vigilant throughout the jurisdiction against smugglers, adding that he will not tolerate any sort of negligence by the staff if found. Both effective strategy and staff commitment were required for taking action against smugglers in the region, he suggested.
Collector Zulifqar warned that field staff will be reshuffled, if the officials could not deliver positive results on assigned tasks. He also directed the ASO officials to improve the performance otherwise they will be transferred to other region to gain better results.
It is the first time in history that the Faisalabad Customs successfully achieved its revenue targets in outgoing fiscal year, he said. The collectorate has jurisdiction over two civil divisions, which are comprised 12 districts, covering an area of 46,000 kilometers, he said.
