Corrupt customs

The cash-strapped government has given the country Rs11610 billion in loans in the last 15 months. No help is coming from government departments seized with the horrendous task of collecting revenue to rejuvenate the financial health of the country. The Customs Intelligence Department has recently unearthed a network of top officials involved in large-scale misdeclaration of descriptions and value of imported goods in over 900 containers, causing losses of billions to the exchequer. Around 355 containers of imported goods were cleared without duty and taxes at the customs station in Torkham.

In a public speech on December 26, 2019, at Pind Dadan Khan, Prime Minister Imran Khan disclosed, “we found one collector customs in one area who was earning Rs70 crore per month”. The maximum punishment a corruption-tainted customs official receives is a transfer to another (less-lucrative) station. Are customs officials collectors or looters of public money?

Sayed GB Shah Bokhari

Peshawar