KARACHI: The Customs Post Clearance Audit (PCA) initiated recovery of evaded customs duty and tax through under-invoicing, which heralds a larger policy wherein government would ensure plugging of revenue leakage.
According to details, the Directorate General of Customs Valuation pursuing the above said plan has issued a number of valuation guidelines for the reference so that under invoicing could be eliminated. Now, PCA has started detecting clearance of imported goods on values lower than the reference values. A recovery in this regard has also been made.
Sources said that a policy is being planned at the helm of affairs where Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar and Advisor to PM Haroon Akhtar have agreed that under-invoicing and smuggling should be eliminated for good.
On the finance side Ishaq Dar and Haroon Akhtar would ensure that revenue leakage is dealt with at the end of Federal Borad of Revenue (FBR) while Chaudhry Nisar would mobilize resources at his disposal to block all means of smuggling.
The authorities are convinced that there must be one standard of values for all importers so that a level playing field could be ensured for all market participants. Still certain importers get their imported goods cleared at under-invoiced values avoiding the correct incident of duty and taxes, which puts them at an advantage against the legitimate traders.
The valuation guidelines being issued by the Directorate General of Customs Valuation are being implanted across the country so that under-invoicing could be eliminated across the board.
Whereas, promotions and transfers are also overdue of customs officers including Director Afghan Transit Surayya Ahmed Butt, Chief Management Faiz Ahmed, Chief Collector Enforcement South Zahid Khokhar, Director General Internal Audit Agha Jawad, Director General Customs Valuation Syed Tanveer Ahmed, Member Tribunal Peshawar Mohammad Saleem, Director Customs Valuation Wasif Memon, Director Reforms & Automation Wajid Ali, Director ASO Feroz Alam Junejo, Director PCA Gul Rehman, Director I&I Samina Wajid, Director Training Zeba Bashir, Collector MCC Appraisement East Ahad Jawad, Collector Islamabad Dr. Arslan Sebuctageen, Collector Preventive Saifuddin Jenejo, Collector Exports (PQ) Mujtaba Memon, Collector Exports Yaqoob Mako, Collector Gawadar Saeed Jadoon, Collector Quetta Saeed Akram, and other officers of the department.
Sources said that as for their track records it is expected that these officers would be assigned on sensitive positions.
