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| April 28, 2003 | Monday | Safar 25, 1424 |
Plan to counter smuggling chalked out
ISLAMABAD, April 27: The federal government has chalked out a comprehensive plan for reducing the unabated smuggling of goods which cause loss to local industries and national kitty.
Well-placed sources told Dawn that the newly appointed director-general of customs intelligence and investigation, who also heads the anti-smuggling committee, was seeking comments and suggestions from the stakeholders in this regard.
The sources said as a first step of the proposed strategy, Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has transferred 12 senior officials of customs and central excise group from various collectorates to the Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation.
These officials, the sources said would be given the task of working out a an action plan to counter smuggling, which not only resulted in loss to the production of the local industries but also to revenue.
Sources said those who were transferred and posted in the directorate included Azhar Majeed Khalid, as director, intelligence and investigation (customs and excise), Lahore; Humayun Khan Sikandari, director, Karachi; Mohammad Younus Khan, director, Islamabad; Jehanzeb Mahmood, additional director, Peshawar; Fazal Yazdani, additional director, Lahore; Tausif Ahmad Qureshi, additional director, Islamabad; Akhtar Zaman Khattak, additional director, Karachi; Sadiqullah Khan, deputy director, Quetta; Syed Shakeel Shah, deputy director, Rawalpindi; Dr Asif Mahmood Jah, deputy director, Hyderabad; Aftab Ahmed Bhatti, deputy director, Faisalabad.
According to statistics, the different field formations of the customs department have seized smuggled goods worth Rs0.682 billion during the year 2001-02 against the total seizure of goods worth Rs2.199 billion over the corresponding period last year showing a decrease of 68.87 per cent.
The tax authorities have made maximum seizure during the year 1998, which stood at Rs4 billion.
The level of seizures has decreased constantly, which the tax authorities are attributing to decrease in smuggling of goods.
On the other hand, the tax authorities seized smuggled goods worth Rs0.816 billion during the first half of the current financial year, which showed a steep upward rise in the flow of smuggled goods following stability in Afghanistan.
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