LAHORE: The customs enforcement Lahore has recorded 100 percent growth in tax revenue collection during the first quarter of the current financial year.
“We have collected Rs1678.21 million in first three months of the financial year 2025-26 as against Rs 781.22 million of the corresponding three months of the previous year showing a growth of 100 percent,” claimed Collector Customs Enforcement Lahore Muhammad Saeed Wattoo. He said the department has set a collection target of Rs 2 billion through auction in the current financial year.
“Seized smuggled goods worth billions of rupees are present in the warehouses of the customs department which are being auctioned on regular basis,” he said. Further, he added that customs enforcement with 70 percent growth collected Rs 9036.18 million in taxes during the financial year 2024-25 compared with Rs 6041.21 of the financial year 2023.24.
“Due to our better and effective strategy, we have foiled a number of smuggling attempts and recovered goods worth millions of rupees from the outlaws,” Wattoo pointed out. He said that the department has adopted an aggressive strategy to curb the smuggling of Iranian oil which has been very successful. According to him, the menace of smuggling could be completely controlled if the location is timely traced.
Now the department is taking every step to acquire latest technology, particularly the track and trace equipment to root out smuggling. “With use of modern technology, we can eliminate the menace of smuggling up to 90 percent,” Wattoo stated.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025