LAHORE: President Lahore Tax Bar Association (LTBA) Qamar-uz-Zaman Chaudhary said the field staff of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation performs its duties within the prescribed jurisdiction and according to the bylaws.
He stated this while giving an exclusive interview to Customs Today.
Qamar-uz-Zaman said the relevant bylaws allow the staff of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation to check the legality of goods then decide whether items should be impounded or not. If any businessman/importer pays his liabilities of taxes and duties then customs staff avoids examining goods and vehicles.
He maintained that there may be many officers in the department who are involved in the corrupt practices then why the department remains silent on corruption of the officers and officials. “So if department always imposes penalty on taxpayer then why does it not take action against the corrupt officers”, he questioned.
The President Lahore Tax Bar Association (LTBA) opined that the strong corrupt system is the only hurdle in the application of rules and bylaws therefore law applying institutions should take serious measures to implement the rule of law.
He said the government must take serious action to end the corruption in the department of Inland Revenue and Customs which can strengthen the national economy. “If corruption is stopped then it will automatically enrich the national exchequer”, he asserted.
Qamar said everything is available on web portal but, due to no use of advance technology, a lot of issues have arisen. He added that corruption is the major reason of Pakistani economy’s crises so action at every level must be taken by the government.
President Lahore Tax Bar Association (LTBA) further maintained that if administrative heads are involved in corruption then we cannot expect any good from the subordinates.
He said decreasing of imports and increasing of exports can make a big difference in terms of enriching the national economy. And the government should also focus on manufacturing industry, he stressed.
He suggested that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) should take serious note of the complaints of the importers regarding corruption, misconduct and abuse of powers by the field staff of the Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigations.
Executives should make the officials of the Model Customs Collectorates and Directorates of Customs Intelligence and Investigation bound to follow the set policy in line with the rules and regulations, he added. Qamar further said every officer and official must be aware of the bylaws of the department.
