LAHORE: Pakistan Automobile Spare Parts Importers & Dealers Association (PASPIDA) former chairman Nasir Hameed Khan has urged Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) & chief collector to take strict action against elements involved in harassing bearing importers and delaying bearings’ customs clearance.
He was talking to Customs Today here in Lahore the other day.
He said that some powerful people are involved in bearing trade in order to sabotage the entire bearings business in Pakistan, wiping out competition and paving way for smuggling.
It has already caused huge losses and has become a major reason for mental torture for the importers and it will only cause more trouble if not redressed.”
Khan said that the customs authorities should stop this harassing the bearing importers.
“if there is an issue in the clearances done in the past, they should issue show cause to importers instead of threatening them by making phone calls, and also investigate internally their own examiners and appraisers who cleared the goods, ” he added.
Khan explained that customs authorities at Karachi Port have unusually held bearing consignments and were unnecessarily lingering customs procedures that were resulting in causing heavy demurrages, detention and other losses to customers’ accounts.
The attitude of custom authorities towards our importers is disrespectful and all sorts of tactics to harass importers are being used”, he added, adding that even the consignments which have no issue or have clearance from adjudication are held up by shed staff, claiming to check any past recovery on same license.
It is unfortunate that all principles, code and ethics are left behind by the customs authorities, by holding current GDs which are systematically cleared and have no concern with past GDs, the PASPIDA former chairman said, adding that customs authorities were also harassing bearing importers whose goods are not at the port but have been cleared in the past.
He said that there are numerous complaints of phone calls to importers with threat of criminal proceedings if they fail to show up at a custom house and submit the recovery amount.”
