MULTAN: Fraudulent conduct of Principal Appraiser Dost Muhammad and his smuggling network is severely affecting the repute of whole customs department as genuine importers are upset on current situation. Illegal clearance of contraband items and operating parallel smuggling network for bribe is a serious matter for customs department as it is causing huge loss to the national exchequer.
It was stated by Multan Tax Bar Association member advocate Ghulam Mustafa Chohan in his exclusive interview to Customs Today the other day.
He stated that corruption and misuse of entrusted powers by Dost Muhammad on large scale for private gains is damaging repute of whole Customs department and high-ups of Customs are also equally responsible for corruption of Dost Muhammad because they ignore petty corruption of dishonest officials like Dost Muhammad and others which encourage them to do large scale fraud in the clearance of shipments.
He said that majority of genuine importers are compelled to pay extra money in shape of bribe after payment of taxes to corrupt customs staff for swift handling of import shipments and if genuine importers refuse to pay extortion money or bribe to corrupt officials then they face unnecessary delay in clearance of import shipments and sometimes false seizure cases are framed by corrupt officials of Customs like Dost Muhammad and others to blackmail importers.
He said that large scale corruption of Dost Muhammad in customs department is playing crucial role in deteriorating law and order and their corruption shackles the economy of country. The prevalent corruption of Dost Muhammad in customs department can be restricted by applying certain measures and government should establish the rule of law.
He suggested that equal application of law should be applied in the country to protect the rights of genuine importers otherwise genuine importers will stop imports due to trust deficit on Customs Department. He said that effective and impartial accountability is required to restrain corruption in the department. Weak prosecution is also one of the main reasons for promotion of corruption in the country and if Dost Muhammad was punished on his first corruption allegation after fair investigation then big scams could not have happened. He said that root causes of the rampant corruption in the customs are due to lack of effective accountability, poor performance on the part of respective institutions, unchecked and unlimited power of few officials who misuse law for their personal interests.
He told that corrupt officials are not scared of anyone due to weak prosecution system and execution of contemporary laws in the country and active role of media is necessary to eradicate the corruption of Dost Muhammad and others in the Customs department.
He demanded strict action against Dost Muhammad and others on mal-practices in the Customs department to win trust of genuine importers to ensure smooth clearance process at ports.
