Customs laboratory reports to be computerised

The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has decided to computerise the customs laboratory reports to ensure recovery of duties and taxes on the basis of detection. In a second decision, the CBR is also establishing modern customs laboratories in all major cities to ascertain the description of the imported goods for proper valuation and assessment of taxes.
Sources told Business Recorder on Monday that the laboratory reports are necessary to ascertain the composition, description and quality of various imported raw materials/goods for valuation of customs duty particularly on textile products.
The CBR has issued instructions to all the collectors of customs to ensure computerisation of all the lab reports. This will ensure speedy recovery of revenue loss detected through lab test reports relating to imported/exported goods. The collectors should also examine all such reports for the recovery of amount, if any.
"The availability of modern and reliable laboratory is essential at every collectorate for which funds would be provided by the CBR. Collectors conference has already taken a decision in this regard", they maintained.
On the issue, the collector appraisement has expressed his concern over the shortage of experienced staff in customs laboratory, Karachi due to retirement of the old staff and no fresh recruitment.
In the first phase, the CBR will set up a state of the art laboratory at the Customs House, Karachi. The 10th and 11th floors of the Custom House have been reserved for setting up such laboratory. The CBR is also considering setting up a mini lab at the Model Customs Collectorates. Moreover, more labs will be set up in other parts of the country, they added.
It may be recalled that the CBR has issued sales tax refund to the exporters on the basis of 'customs laboratory report', which was used for verification of declaration on shipping documents. This helped the collectorates of sales tax to unearth cases where wrong information was declared on the shipping documents by the exporters to claim sales tax refund.
Last year, the CBR had issued instructions to all collectors of sales tax that if the findings as per laboratory reports did not match with the declaration, only that amount will be sanctioned as sales tax refund, which is actually used in the export.