KARACHI – With the establishment of a special cell in the Model Customs Collectorate (MCC) East, Pakistan Customs is expected to announce a special incentives package for those officials who will help identify corruption in the department.
The cell has been tasked with ending corruption in Pakistan Customs. Recently, the newly-established cell presented a report to Pakistan Customs, recommending that the officials must be encouraged and rewarded to refuse any illegal orders of their superiors to ensure the rule of law in the collectorate.
A report says the importers and clearing agents deliberately mis-declare the goods in terms of description, brand, origin, type, quantity and value, despite the fact they had themselves examined the goods before filing of the goods declaration in terms of the first proviso to Section 79 (1) of the Customs Act, 1969.
It revealed the examination staff of almost all the examination stations is regularly committing aforesaid violation of the law and procedure under illegal influence / threats of their supervisory officers. For the time being, some changes are visible in the Customs after the reshuffle in the top management was made on the directives of the FBR chairman, the sources said. However, as the time passed the things had reversed to their previous positions and as the report mentioned about the organised crime at the time of clearance of goods, the exchequer is again loosing huge amount.
