Powers of DG, Excise & Customs Intelligence to be curtailed
The Board is likely to recommend a proposal to restrict the powers of directorate general of intelligence by limiting its jurisdiction only to intelligence, a senior official said.
The Official said that the Board in its meeting lately agreed in principle to change the mandate of the DG (Customs and Excise) by taking back large extent the enforcement powers of the directorate and assign it actual duties that are to recommend measures to the government for minimizing the quantum of the smuggling into country by information collected by its field formations.
The new role of the directorate would also include the liaison with the international anti-smuggling organizations to curb the smuggling of goods as well as the prohibited items under international law.
The Official said that by the new role, the directorate would not be authorized to permit its officers to check the non duty paid vehicles, raid the business premises and checking of imported cargoes at any place in the country.
The operations of the directorate would be to maintain the data bank of the routes of smuggling, smugglers and items that are being smuggled in the country and check the working of the officials and officers of all taxes so that the element of the corruption could be stopped with the help of officials.
It was a long-standing demand of the business community to check the activities of the officials of the directorate and save the community from the undue harassment caused by the officials of the directorate by indulging in unnecessary inspections and raids, especially outside the international ports, airports and dry port, the official said.
The directorate would be allowed to exercise minimum enforcement powers that would not create difficulty for the business community, the official added.
Is it all about DRI and DGCEI? This is a report from the Pakistan Daily Times regarding their versions of our intelligence outfits.