Customs operations in Pakistan come to a halt

Customs operations at all container terminals in Pakistan came to a halt due to the protest of appraisement officers against the issuance of arrest warrants of 14 customs officials on the charges of clearing 47 containers of liquor under fake Goods Declarations (GDs), Business Recorder reported.

The protest, which was jointly staged by Pakistan Customs Appraisement Officers Association (PCAOA) and Examining Officers Association (EOA) to express resentments against the action, cost billions of rupees to the national exchequers. Customs agents, importers and exporters thronged the customs offices to clear consignments, but the department, which is supposed to process around 1400 GDs daily, did not clear a single GD during the whole day, raising disenchantment among the stakeholders.

When contacted, Javed Raza, President PCAOA, rejected the alleged involvement of customs officials in this illicit business. He termed the action of the Investigation and Prosecution branch, customs house, Peshawar, as illegal, saying that the directorate has misled the customs special court for issuing arrest warrants of the appraisement officers.

He said that the appraisers and examiners were following the board’s instructions made through customs general order 12/2002, which restricted not to conduct physical examination of Nato consignments. Responding to a question, Javed said that the customs department could not verify the veracity of the documents pertaining to Nato consignments, as there is no mechanism in this regard.

He said that the action against the appraisement staff has imperilled the democratic government, saying that the move to harass the customs officials was aimed to make revenue target formidable to achieve, which would lead to create financial problems for government machinery. Moreover, he said, the association has taken up issue with customs authorities, who have given assurance to find a solution of the issue.
(source:www.cargonewsasia.com)