Customs to register import agencies

Manjula Fernando

In a bid to save millions of rupees lost due to corruption and smuggling, the Customs Department, the single biggest national income earner, has initiated a program to register all import agencies operating in the country.

Customs Director General S. W. Jayatilake said this program will enable the Customs Department to nab fly by night operators who had been cheating the state millions of revenue collected as taxes.

There are over 1,000 such agencies in the country but the Department lacks a data bank to verify their bona fides.

A special unit has been opened to register such offices dealing with the customs. Investigators will pay personal visits to these agencies to verify their authenticity.

The Customs Department is the single biggest income earner for the state. It accounts for 50 percent of the total national revenue.

The target income from the Customs Department for this year from its nine different import taxes and customs fines is Rs. 427 billion.

The Department earned the state a total of Rs. 315 billion in 2008 but despite this massive income, it is said that some millions of rupees is being lost every year due to malpractices involved in the clearance process.

The Customs Department is also in the process of upgrading its automated on line clearance system which has accounted for speedy clearance of cargo and goods and reduce corruption.

It will upgrade the system from ASYCUDA ++ to the ASYCUDA world (Automated System for Customs Data developed by UNCTAD) and the Government has spent Rs.45 million to upgrade the process.

Introduced as part of its re-structuring program, this system provides the importer a hassle free software to process all documentation related to customs clearance on line and is considered a very reliable and stable software.

The Customs Director General said this technology minimises the personal contact between the importer and the customs officials, thus reducing the chances of foul play.