Operations at all ports on Friday came to a halt due to protest by officials of Customs House against the suspension of 25 customs officials on the charges of clearing hundreds of containers without any physical examination during October 2006 to July 2007 under fake Goods Declarations (GDs), allowing the importers to evade levies worth billions of rupees, sources said.
Sources at Customs House told Business Recorder that hundreds of customs officials staged protest demonstration in front of Customs' head office against the suspension of their colleagues. Owing to the protest, 'One-Customs' and 'Care' clearance systems at Customs House, Port Qasim and Karachi Port Trust became dysfunctional.
The protest came after FBR suspended on Friday 25 customs officials on charges of allegedly clearing some 220 containers illegally through Customs Care System, which caused Rs billions of losses to national exchequer. FBR officials said that the officials were suspended for heir involved in illegal clearance of some 220 containers through Customs Care System.
They said the officials cleared hundreds of containers without any physical examination during October 2006 to July 2007 under fake Goods Declarations (GDs), allowing the importers to evade levies worth billions of rupees.
However, a high official of Customs department strongly criticised FBR decision, saying that board always took action against low ranking staff, adding these low ranking official could not carry out such illegal activity without the patronage of their high-ups.
He urged FBR to take indiscriminate action against all those, who are involved in the scam. The protesting officials said that the high official of Custom always restrained them form verifying import documents and physically examining the consignments, which were to be cleared through the Customs Care System.
They said that they let the consignments to pass through Customs Care System on the directions of high officials, adding later on they were held responsible for illegal clearance and consequently suspended from services.
They claimed that the low ranking official let the consignments pass through Custom Care System without scrutiny and physical examination on the directives of the high officials. They termed FBR decision discriminatory, arguing that they had no power to exercise their authority to examine and verify the consignments physically.
To a question, they said although Customs Act empowers officials to check, verify and examine the consignments, the higher authorities always restrained them to do so. "If any one of the officials insisted to exercise the authority, the high official suspend them on charge of harassment," they alleged.
The protesting officials said that customs activity would only be restored if the suspension orders were withdrawn. It may be mentioned that the consignments in question were comprised electronic goods, cosmetic items and leather goods, which were imported from China and cleared without paying levies at Port Qasim.
The officials, who have been suspended are Sher Bahadur, Senior Preventive Officer (SPO), Abdul Ghaffar, SPO, Abdus Salam, SPO, A. Rasheed Siddiqui, SPO, S. Khursheed Anwar, SPO, Naeem Arshad, SPO, Muhammad Naushad, SPO, Tanveer Ali, Bashir Ahmed, Haq Nawaz, Arshad Ali, Muhammad Ishaq, Muhammad Khan Bhatti, Ihsanull Haq, Akhtar Zamm, Muhammad Ayub, Saeed Akhtar, Irshad Ali Khokar, Mahsood Alam, Muhammad Akhtar, Masood Raza Kazmi, Mumtaz Ali, Muhammad Khalid, Shahbuddin and Malik Aman.
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