KARACHI: In accordance with the Directorate General of Reforms & Automation (Customs) at the FBR Headquarters in Islamabad, a “Super Audit Team” has been formed to conduct examinations and assessments of Goods Declarations (GDs) allocated by the Risk Management System.
Chief Collector Jameel Nasir has issued orders to discourage the practice of ‘package deals’ by appraisement officers, where goods are mis-declared and cleared improperly. For instance, at SAPT, canola oil was declared as residue and cleared.
In such cases, some officials allegedly take a fixed amount of money from traders to clear a certain number of under-declared consignments. Last month, then Chief Collector Mohsin Rafiq had ordered that samples from these consignments of canola oil be tested at HEJ. When the report revealed misdeclaration by the importer, MCC SAPT did not upload it to the system but merely placed it in a file. The consignments were cleared based on an application from the importer claiming they were suffering from demurrage and detention.
Jameel Baloch has now formed a Super Audit Team, though it is unclear how the RMS will assign the GDs to this team. An official mentioned that the FBR is maintaining strict checks and balances on officials to discourage corruption. The official suggested that timely rewards for officials could help eliminate corruption significantly.
The team members, drawn from various Collectorates in Karachi, have been officially notified.
Collectorate of Customs Appraisement (West), Karachi:
1. Mr. Naveed Illahi – Collector (Overall supervision)
2. Ms. Ammara Durrani – Additional Collector (Ensuring timely examination and assessment, decisions on reviews, and coordination with the Directorate of Reforms & Automation)
3. Mr. Asif Jamil – Appraising Officer (Assessment)
4. Mr. Asim Abbas – Appraising Officer (Assessment)
5. Mr. Naqeebullah – Appraising Officer (Examination)
6. Mr. Fazal Mehmood Jahangir – Appraising Officer (Examination).
Collectorate of Customs Appraisement (East), Karachi:
1. Mr. Azhar Husain Merchant – Collector (Overall supervision)
2. Mr. Amjad Aman Laghari – Additional Collector (Ensuring timely examination and assessment, decisions on reviews, and coordination with the Directorate of Reforms & Automation)
3. Mr. Faraz Ahmed – Appraising Officer (Assessment)
4. Mr. Hubban Muhi-Ud-Din – Appraising Officer (Assessment)
5. Mr. Anees ur Rehman Khoso – Appraising Officer (Examination)
6. Mr. Sajjad Ali – Appraising Officer (Examination).
Collectorate of Customs Appraisement (SAPT), Karachi:
1. Mr. Muhammad Irfan Wahid – Collector (Overall supervision)
2. Mr. Imran Razzaq – Additional Collector (Ensuring timely examination and assessment, decisions on reviews, and coordination with the Directorate of Reforms & Automation)
3. Mr. Adeel Shahab – Appraising Officer (Assessment)
4. Mr. Altaf Ur Rehman – Appraising Officer (Assessment)
5. Mr. Ghulam Muhammad Bhutto – Appraising Officer (Examination)
6. Mr. Arslan Bashir Shafiq – Appraising Officer (Examination).
Collectorate of Customs Appraisement (PMBQ), Karachi:
1. Mr. Muhammad Riaz – Appraising Officer (Assessment)
2. Mr. Muhammad Shakeel – Appraising Officer (Examination)
3. Mr. Tariq Usman – Appraising Officer (Examination)
4. Mr. Alvis William – Appraising Officer (Examination).
Initially, the Super Audit Team will examine and assess an average of 25 GDs per day across all four Collectorates of Customs Appraisement (South), Karachi. The outcomes will be shared biweekly with the Directorate of Reforms & Automation-Customs, Karachi until the assessment of a total of 2,000 GDs is completed.