The Customs Preventive Collectorate (CPC) Karachi achieved 0.17 percent increase in the customs duty with a collection of Rs 12,086.59 million as against the target of Rs 12,065.17 million during the period July-June 2003-04. Collector Customs (Preventive) Musarrat Jabeen while addressing a press conference here on Thursday stated this.
She informed that during 2002-03, the collection of customs duty stood at Rs 10,994.19 million showing an increase of 9.93 percent. On the sales tax side, the Collectorate collected Rs 28,369.87 million during 2003-04 as against 25,389.59 million - an increase of 11.6 percent.
Musarrat said that on the anti-smuggling side, the Preventive Collectorate maintained a good track record with the seizure of 43.827 Kilogram of heroin along with the arrest of 32 persons during July-September 2004 besides a record seizure of foreign currency worth US 3.8 dollar million at Karachi Airport.
During the period, she said, the Customs sleuths also seized 10 Kg charas, 0.2 million pirated discs under enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights. The Customs hounds also made a handsome seizure of 16,928 meters art silk cloth, 1000 spectacle frames, medicines and 226 bottles of whisky.
Musarrat said that aside from airport seizures, the anti-smuggling staff seized 75.24 Kg heroin during 2002-03 and 214.56 Kg during 2003-04 and 230.75 Kg charas during 2002-03 and 1,281 Kg charas during 2003-04.
The anti-smuggling organisation also seized 35,000 bottles of foreign liquor, 160,000 CDs, 323 metric tons betel nut and 40,000 psychotropic injections of Indian origin.
She said that anti-smuggling organisation also seized 21,000 bottles of whisky and beer from launches besides arms and ammunition included 1-G 33 machine guns and one rocket launcher and eight rockets with the help of Marine Security Agency.
Collector Preventive told newsmen that besides anti-smuggling operation and revenue collection, the Customs Preventive was providing facilitation to some two million passengers arriving and departing annually through 12,000 incoming and outgoing international flights annually, 231 flight per week or 33 flights per day.
Musarrat said under international co-operation, the Collectorate had co-operation with the US Embassy for procuring helicopter to enhance anti- smuggling activities. She referred to the arrest of two persons in Bradford, UK in a sting operation. Besides the Collectorate had information sharing with Kuwait Customs and training workshop with IFPI, she added.
To a question, Musarrat described automation, capacity buildings, promoting tax friendly culture, uniformity in assessment and sharing of information values, focusing on menace of under-invoicing and misdeclaration of quantity, description etc as some of salient features of the strategy to accelerate revenue collection and plugging the evasion of duties and taxes.
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