HYDERABAD, Jan 26: The International Customs Day was observed at the Customs House here on Wednesday. A large number of employees of relevant departments, including officials of sales tax, excise duty and customs duty, attended the function.

Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry's acting president Mohammad Akram Ansari was the chief guest.

In his speech, the collector, customs, Fazal Qadir Qalbani, reaffirmed the resolve that the department would not only protect the country against customs-related crimes and smuggling but also act as a facilitator in development of international trade.

He maintained that the Pakistan Customs played an important role in smooth conduct of cross-border trade, prevention of smuggling and commercial frauds. He said the department would improve transparency in its operation and reduce the processing time of import and export documents as per international standard by employing latest technology and modern processing methods.

He said the department was bound to facilitate industrialization and provide a friendly service environment by reducing red-tapism. Mr Qalbani said as a part of tax administration reforms programme, the Central Board of Revenue had taken many steps to improve revenue collection and create voluntary tax compliance. He said these measures had started paying dividends.

Quoting figures, he said the Hyderabad collectorate on the revenue side collected Rs882 million during the first six months of the current financial year against Rs536 million collected during the corresponding period of the last financial year, recording an increase of 65 per cent.

Similarly, he added, on the central excise side, the increase was to the tune of 18 per cent. Referring to imports and exports at the Hyderabad customs dry port, he said major imports included kits of vehicles, POL products, raw material and refrigerator components and exports included textile products, such as bed linen, cotton yarn, garments and fabrics, sweater panels, embroidery cloth and suits.

He also highlighted welfare schemes for employees, including establishment of fair price shops and free medical dispensaries. The additional collector, Zahid Hussain Bhayo, said objectives of observing the Customs Day were to review steps for promoting customs cooperation in the interest of international trade and forge close links between customs officials at the international level.

He said the aim of the World Customs Organization was to standardize and harmonize procedures adopted by customs authorities of member countries to facilitate international trade.