Customs Enforcement Role is to Be Enhanced
 

[B]FBR proposes creation of border force to curb smuggling[/B]
Mehtab Haider
ISLAMABAD: To curb smuggling of at least $2.5 billion per annum estimated by USAID, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has proposed the establishment of a Customs Border Force (CBF) and creation of 10,000 posts in phases, it is learnt.
According to official documents, the existing workforce posted at borders to control smuggling comprises just 124 sepoys with most of them being above 55 years of age. Referring to a recent report by the World Bank, the country lost approximately $35 billion between 2001 and 2009 on account of smuggling under the guise of Afghan transit trade alone.
The FBR has proposed to Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf three structures including Customs Border Patrolling Posts (CBPPs), Range and Regional Offices, CBF to monitor and curb smuggling in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Quetta, Gwadar and Karachi and establishing CBF headquarters in Islamabad headed by a director general of BS-21.
The FBR has prepared a concept paper and presented it to the PM in his recent visit to the FBR but it requires the assent of the Ministry of Finance and other relevant forums. “Yes, we have recommended to PM Raja Pervaiz Ashraf the establishment of infrastructure at borders for effective enforcement and revenue collection when he paid a visit to the FBR,” said FBR Member Customs Mohammad Riaz.
Top officials also referred to another study undertaken by USAID, which found that every year $2.5 billion goods are being smuggled back into Pakistan via the Afghan transit trade. According to the FBR concept paper, the main enforcement unit will be the CBPP, which will be responsible for patrolling enforcement against smuggling of narcotics, chemical precursors, explosive precursors, contraband items, raw material and general merchandise from the neighbouring countries and sea into Pakistan.
Patrolling posts will be created after every 50-60 km in the areas alongside the borders of Afghanistan and Iran and along the coastal belt of Pakistan.Four to five CBPPs would be monitored by the Range Office headed by an officer not below deputy director and these offices will be located in a city or town that is strategically important to control smuggling.
Similarly, a Regional Office headed by an additional director of BS-19 will supervise two to three Range Offices. The FBR proposed four divisional headquarters in Peshawar with the mandate to curb smuggling across the Pak-Afghan border.

Source The News
Tuesday, October 16, 2012