KARACHI: The Directorate General of Customs Valuation and other ‘bad posting’ directorates are extremely short of staff, resultantly the existing staff is heavily over-burdened with work-load, which might compromise the performance of these departments.
The responsibilities of DG Customs Valuation include issuing news valuation rulings and revising existing valuation rulings and decide review of valuation rulings cases Market inquires and research for the determination of Custom values, dealings with FTO, tribunal and courts as well as meeting and coordination with trade bodies.
Sources said issuing Valuation Rulings is a very sensitive job and a minor derivation can result in a huge loss of national revenue.
Presently, the sanctioned positions at the Directorate General include one DG, one Director 3 additional directors, 5 deputy/assistant directors, 9 principal appraisers, 25 valuation officers.
The Directorate is working with one DG Sameera Naz, one Director Abdul Rasheed Shaikh, one additional director, Iqbal Munir instead of 3, one deputy director Dr. Mohammad Shahzad instead of sanctioned 5, as many as 9 principal appraisers and 4 valuation officers instead of sanctioned 25.
It may be mentioned here that the senior officers at the Directorate General are very well reputed, but they are heavily over-burdened with workload.
Supreme Court in a ruling regarding Karachi law & order case noted that no officers should hold any office for more than three years. FBR then transferred appraisers and principal appraisers from MCC Appraisement East to MCC Appraisement West ridiculing the apex court’s ruling. The appraisers and principal appraisers are a mafia and have been working in imports for the last 2-25 years. This mafia has grown so strong that even the FBR itself is helpless against them.
If the Supreme Court’s order is followed regarding shuffling of officers every three years then the Directorates including, Adjudication, Valuation, IOCO, PCA, Internal Audit, MCC Export and Afghan Transit will never by short of staff. These directorates are termed as ‘bad postings’ and no officer/official is ever willing to be posted there.
It may be mentioned here that there are officers who are posted for the last over 15 years in MCC Export and are not transferred as these have no such links and connections.