04 March 2005	Friday	22 Muharram 1426

ISLAMABAD, March 3: The government is considering a proposal to reduce the number of law-enforcement agencies involved in prevention of smuggling as it has rather increased the menace, resulting in revenue losses to the national kitty.

Sources told Dawn on Thursday that the proposal was under consideration following the abolition of customs check posts and complaints received from different quarters about harassment of people by the personnel of these agencies.

At present, the customs intelligence, customs collectorates, police, frontier constabulary, frontier corps, Balochistan corps, Pakistan coast guards and the Punjab and Sindh rangers are simultaneously working for eradication of smuggling in the country. However, the seizure of smuggled goods despite presence of so many agencies has been on constant decline during the recent years which the customs officials described as a rationalization of duty on import of smuggle-prone goods.

According to a market analysis, the proliferation of so many agencies has also put a negative impact on legal imports. "This has a negative impact on prevention of smuggling because no single agency could be held responsible and share responsibility given a rise to corruption and smuggling," said the sources.

The sources said in certain cases there were agencies which worked in the same area and the resultant overlapping of responsibilities hampered normal trade activities. For example, the coast guards have also been authorized to operate at Karachi Port where the customs officials were already posted.

According to the sources, there were complaints that after customs clearance of authorized imports, the coast guards still had its hands on the goods to the detriment of the business community.

This is a classical example of misuse of power by the coast guards viz-a-viz the powers delegated to the officials concerned under the customs act. According to the sources, the government has failed to control smuggling through administrative measures.

A committee has recently been constituted to submit a report containing names of those items which were prone to smuggling. The committee will also propose reduction in import duty on these items which will be considered during the 2005-06 budget.