KARACHI: The assessment staff at Customs Appraisement South has stopped the work at 05:00 PM on Friday as a protest against the harassing attitude of Chief Collector Appraisement South Abdul Rasheed Sheikh.
Principal appraisers and appraising officers are unanimous in their view point that no verbal orders and directives would be followed and the work will be done as per the book.
An official said Chief Collector had been continuously interfering with the assessment work and several of his verbal directives could not be followed. Chief collector recently conveyed the directives that 90 percent of GDs should be cleared without examination while assessment staff was barred from calling documents from the importers.
Chief Collector Appraisement South Abdul Rasheed Sheikh on Friday conducted a raid on the assessment hall of MCC Appraisement West. AO Azfar Noor was doing a GD containing 18 items and he was inquired why the processing was taking time. Azfar Noor informed the Chief Collector that the processing had to be done as per the practice so that possible revenue leakage could be avoided, while the officer also had to cover himself.
Subsequently, Abdul Rasheed Sheikh advised Deputy Collector Appraisement West Imran Rasool was advised to transfer Azfar Noor.
Sheikh then visited MCC Appraisement East and exchanged hot words with Assistant Collector Abeer Javed because of the blinds on her office windows. It may be recalled Chief Collector earlier ordered to remove all blinds from the office windows across the Customs House.