Imported goods: Customs officials accused of delaying assessment

LAHORE: Customs authorities are allegedly involved in delaying assessment of imported goods within stipulated period to harass the importers, said sources.

They said the Customs Act empowers the collector of customs to extend the period for final assessment/determination in case the goods could not be assessed/reassessed within the stipulated period.

The law requires from the concerned officers of customs to assess duty against imported goods when the goods declaration is filed by the importers. If, however, the imported goods could not immediately be assessed to duty, they would be provisionally assessed/reassessed and within the stipulated period final assessment be carried out.

However, said the sources, the collector of customs is most of the time not justified to extend the period within which the final determination of liability or assessment of duty could be made.

In such a situation, they added, the importers prefer to challenge the action of extending the date for the final assessment, which leads to a long string of litigation between them and the department.

They said the customs authorities fail to understand that the law has declared provisional assessment as final if the final one not completed within the specified period as a safeguard to the benefit of the assessee/importer/exporter to save them from unnecessary harassment by customs authorities through undue delaying their cases for indefinite period on the pretext of making a final assessment.

They further added that the penal provision against the customs authorities has been incorporated for the benefit of importers from undue lingering on their cases for indefinite period on the pretext of finalizing the assessment and the provisional assessment will become final on declared value of goods by the assessee, followed by disbursement of additional amount or guarantee furnished by the importers would be regulated on such premises. According to the sources, dozens of appeals are pending before the appellate forums against the harassment of customs authorities throughout the country.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023