ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Railway should provide all the facilities, including forensic chemical laboratory, proper boundary wall, sheds and transportation to custom staff performing duties at Peshawar Dry Port in order to bring ease in the process.
This was said by Deputy Collector Muhammad Zakir while giving an exclusive interview to Customs Today here at his office.
He said, “Building a proper boundary wall around the dry port is essential and it must be provided by the railways, as it is mentioned in the Section 14-A and 14 of the Customs Act, 1969 that anyone rather it is department or person who manages or owns a customs port, it has to provide adequate accommodation to customs staff, transportation for staff, examination of goods, detention and storage of goods and for other departmental requirements to be determined by the collector of customs and shall pay utility bills, rent and taxes in respect of such accommodation”.
He also said that sheds for consignment of importers and exporters should be built; adding that business community used to complain about the lack of sheds causing demurrage of valuable goods due to hot weather and rainy season.
The staff responsible for examination of goods at dry port also complained that it was difficult to examine the consignments in hot and cold weathers without sheds, as harsh weather imposed effect on health of the staffers, the deputy collector said, adding that such atmosphere also slowed the process.
Zakir said that Pakistan Railways (PR) should provide shed for dry port on an urgent basis and it also provide proper loading and unloading area to facilitate the businessmen.
He said that the railways was earning handsome revenue through computerised weighbridge, as it was getting Rs 1300 per container to provide weight facility. “If the railways provides chemical lab at the terminal, this facility can generate handsome amount of revenue, besides saving time,” he said.
Answering to a query regarding shifting to new dry port at Azakhail, the deputy collector said that PC-1 has been completed and the authorities were working on the basic physical interior structures and facilities (e.g. buildings, roads, power supplies, internet etc) needed to make the operation of the dry port functional.
He said that the Federal Board of Revenue (ANF) has already allowed the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) for inspection of inbound cargo containers at dry port to check drugs smuggling.
Replying to a query about revenue collection in July-August 2016-17, he replied that performance of dry port is above the expectation as it collected Rs 1,011.37 million in wake of duty and taxes during two months. He also said that it surpassed the revenue collection target of Rs 841 million during same period of the fiscal year 2015-16.
He informed that recovery cell collected Rs 0.9 million during July-August 2016-17, adding that recovery process was began at Peshawar Customs after joining of Collector Qurban Ali Khan.
