Performance of appraisers, principal appraisers is being minutely monitored to guarantee accuracy in valuation, classification of goods and speedy clearance
LAHORE: The Collectorate of Customs Appraisement has been able to ensure a growth of 24 percent in collection of customs duty during the financial year 2016-17 despite the fact that importers are unhappy over the imposition of Infrastructure Development Cess by the Punjab government.
Talking to Customs Today, Collector of Customs Appraisement Muhammad Jamil Nasir said that the collectorate collected Rs 28,475 million during the financial year 2016-17 whereas it had collected Rs 23,493 million during the previous financial year. He said that Rs 4,532 million were collected as customs duty against the assigned target of Rs 4,302 million in June 2017 alone, adding that the collectorate ensured transparency at every stage of its operations.
Nasir has extensive experience in customs related affairs while he holds degrees of MA Economic, MBA and has attended a program in Columbia on Economic Policy Management.
He said that due to the levy of Infrastructure Development Cess at the rate of 0.9 percent, several major importers prefer to clear their goods from Karachi ports, adding that collection of customs duty was a challenge in Punjab.
“Duty collection through administrative measures remained one of the primary areas of concern, especially during the last quarter of the last financial year,” he said. The follow up of legal cases, recovery of the liabilities, auction of overstayed goods, encashment of financial instruments, finalization of provisional assessments and audit of manufacturing bonds and DTRE users were given particular attention in the last quarter of the last financial year, he added.
He stated that approximately Rs 1,800 million were collected as a result of administrative measures and improvement in assessment and valuation during the last quarter.
Besides optimum collection of customs duty through administrative measures, trade facilitation and keeping track of performance of the officers and officials of the Collectorate are some of the major planks of the operational strategy of the Collectorate of Appraisement, Lahore Nasir highlighted saying in this regard, WeBOC registration system has been revamped to make the process of obtaining of WeBOC user ID easier and transparent.
“Moreover, performance of the appraisers and principal appraisers is also being regularly monitored with a view to ensure accuracy of valuation and classification of goods and speedy clearance. Resultantly, there is significant indication of correctness of valuation and assessment leading to reduction in complaints from the importers and their representatives,” the collector of Appraisement underlined, explaining that the effective rate of duty has also witnessed an increase.
“With transparent and accurate examination process, instances of mis-declaration of description, classification and origin have reduced considerably” Nasir mentioned.
Collector Jamil Nasir, hoped that as a result of joining of new appraisers and inspectors in the second week of July, 2017, working of the Colletorate will further improve as lack of trained and motivated workforce has been one of the major reasons responsible for below optimal standards of performance.
The Collectorate is also working on certain initiatives aimed at facilitation of trade, reduction of dwell time and cost of doing business, education of the taxpayers and restructuring business processes to make clearance speedy and transparent, the collector said.
One of such initiatives includes more focus on post release verification of imported consignments, education of importers and taxpayers through meetings and workshops with organizations of trade like Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), Nasir said.
Education and trainings of the importers will go a long way in improving the quality of customs declarations and bridging trust deficit between the customs department and the importers and exporters, the collector concluded.
