Smuggled goods
Published in Daily Times on November 4, 2013
Sir: It is indeed a good thing that the Supreme Court (SC) has directed the
customs authorities to investigate how many of the 19,000 missing containers
were packed with arms and lethal weapons. However, the SC should also take into
consideration the fact that the whole country is flooded with smuggled goods,
which have considerably affected local industries. These smuggled items are
removed from containers destined for Afghanistan and sold in the local markets.
Such smuggled items could also have been in the missing containers. The court
should immediately ban the sale of smuggled goods. It should ask the Federal
Board of Revenue (FBR) to ensure that shopkeepers buy goods only from
registered importers and keep a permanent record of the customs import
documents (GDRs) of all goods purchased by them. The FBR should conduct regular
surveys and arrest those who sell such smuggled goods (on which no tax has been
paid). This will help the FBR to substantially increase government revenue and
save many local industries from closure.
SHAKIR LAKHANI
Karachi
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