KARACHI: As the recently promoted officers of Pakistan Customs Service have assumed their new officers a couple of important officers are lying vacant as transfers and postings of Grade-20 officers are yet to be notified.

Large-scale transfers and postings of Customs officers ranging from Grade-20 to Grade-17 are due to be announced and it is reported that the same will be notified after Chairman FBR Tariq Bajwa and Member Customs return from Dubai.

Chief Collector Appraisement South Abdul Rasheed Shaikh and Director General Transit Trade Javed Ghani, Director of Intelligence and Investigation (Enforcement) Yaqoob Mako have assumed their offices.

These officers were promoted recently afterwards their new postings were announced. Chief Collector Enforcement Zahid Khokhar would assume his new office on Wednesday, August 8, 2015.

After the recent transfers and postings the office of Director Customs Valuation is lying vacant as former Director Abdul Rasheed Shaikh has been promoted and transferred.

The office of Collector Exports Karachi is also lying vacant as Javed Ghani has been promoted and transferred to Transit Trade.

Collector Appraisement East and Collector Appraisement West have organized a dinner in the owner of outgoing Chief collector Appraisement South Nasir Masroor and Chief Collector Enforcement Nazim Saleem to be held at Directorate General of Training on Wednesday.

Customs stations including MCC Port Qasim, MCC Appraisement East & West, MCC Hyderabad, MCC Gwadar, MCC Preventive (customs clearance) will be within the jurisdiction of Yaqoob Mako. Director I&I (Anti-smuggling) Asif Marghoob Siddiqui would supervise anti-smuggling activities.

The delay in the transfers and postings of Grade-20 officers is the National Management Course (NMC) for which nominations have been notified by the Establishment Division. Collector Appraisement East Manzoor Memon has been notified for the course, but he is making excuses to avoid the course.

If officers do not go to NMC, Establishment Division would not revise the nominations hence these two promotions of Customs would go in vain and the junior or willing officers would be deprived of promotions.

Sources said that Chairman FBR would likely consult the Establishment Division to nominate some other officers so that Customs Group could not be deprived of promotions.