Duty losses
Wednesday's detection by the
Customs of an illegal shipment of luxury vehicles in dismantled
form is the latest in a series of similar detections made over
the past several months and perhaps could be the tip of the
iceberg of an organised racket denying the State of a colossal
sum in duty revenue.
According to a news item in our inside pages yesterday
Customs have seized four Sports Utility Vehicles shipped from
Italy in dismantled form. The stock was fraudulently packed and
loaded in a container declared as personal effects and consigned
to an address in the Wennappuwa area.
There is a growing trend observed recently of importers not
only of motor vehicles but other luxury goods too employing
devious means to avoid paying the high duty levy imposed on such
items. Not very long ago the media reported how a well known
business tycoon had his premises raided by Customs officers
following information that he had resorted to under invoicing of
goods imported.
That was the end of the matter and the public is still
unaware what became of the investigations or whether punitive
action if any was taken. It is this soft pedalling that has
opened the doors for the impunity displayed by various
racketeers to take chances with the law. What is required is
stringent enforcement of the law without fear or favour.
Today in the prevailing high octane commercial environment
some entrepreneurs have developed various strategies to cock a
snook at the prevailing laws and regulations and outsmart the
State so much so some of them have cultivated this to a fine
art. This of course is to be expected when one observes the
stealth and craftiness employed in almost all fields of
activity.
Since the advent of the open economy and the exposure of the
country to international trade, turning a hitherto dormant
commercial sector virtually on its head the Customs have became
the nerve centre of the country's economic landscape and has
been the State's main revenue collector in a larger sense.
Thus it is incumbent that this vital arm of the State is
provided with all the resources and facilities to obtain the
optimum results in revenue collection. The hands of its officers
should not be tied by exerting political influence to bypass
infringements. The ultimate loser will be the State. It should
function as an independent and autonomous body to go after the
thieves.
Many laws and regulations had been drafted with many an
amendment made to the Customs Ordinance to meet new and emerging
challenges. But it appears that the country is still losing a
large amount in duty levies as a result of the crafty enterprise
of certain big time businessmen to dare the State.
There have been many accounts of arrests made and the
suspects fined double or treble of the value of goods detected.
But the State continues to be swindled as Tuesday's detection
demonstrates.
It is time therefore that the authorities make an honest
reappraisal of the present Customs laws and devise a foolproof
system to plug in the holes and ensure the country receives all
its due revenue while reining in the racketeers.
Software piracy
We welcome the action by the
Colombo Crime Division with the assistance of representatives of
the Business Software Alliance (BSA), to conduct criminal raids
against distributors of illegal business software in Colombo.
Three outlets in Majestic City were raided and 412 illegal
software CDs were seized by the Police during the raid.
While this is certainly a welcome step, why not extend the
raids to counterfeit DVD/VCD shops all over the country ?
Ironically, these very same shops raided for software piracy
engage in this business too. That the police ignored this aspect
is rather baffling, because piracy of intellectually property
too should not be tolerated.
Sri Lanka, along with Malaysia and China, has become a hotbed
for piracy. The latest Hollywood and Bollywood movies are
available on DVD for as little as Rs.120 on sidewalk stalls,
which is a crime by any means. Sinhala films and Sinhala MP3 CDs
are also available freely at these illegal outlets. And if you
think that such stores are confined to the pavements, just enter
any shopping mall in the City and visit the DVD shops, where
pirated copies go for as little as Rs.200 with plastic cover.
Customs and law enforcement authorities should maintain
vigilance to intercept stocks of pirated DVDs and CDs entering
the country.
In a novel initiative, Malaysia has deployed so-called DVD
dogs to catch DVD smugglers. Such steps, though seemingly
extreme, should be taken to end the menace of piracy. |