LAHORE: Customs Collectorate, Quetta has collected an amount of Rs 980 million revenue in share of Customs Duty (CD), Sales Tax (ST), Withholding Tax and Federal Excise Duty (FED) in the months of July to October, 2014, more than 20 percent collected in same period in 2013, Collector Customs Zahoor Akhtar Raja said on Saturday.
He said that Customs personnel deployed at Baleli Check post have also seized morphine worth 630 million, Iranian diesel amounting 20 million in 40 different searches.
“Customs despite having issues of acute shortage of manpower is striving hard to curb smuggling and strengthen the economy through collecting revenue in various heads,” he maintained. There is acute shortage of manpower in Balochistan, he said, adding the chief collector has been informed about the vacant posts of ACs, DCs and others hampering work of the Customs in Balochistan.
It may be mentioned here that Quetta region was appreciated in recent revenue meeting held in Karachi for achieving its target. Quetta was the only Collectorate which deposited more revenue than the target. “Pak-Iran Border Trade Committee, after the gap of four year held its meeting in Quetta which would improve bilateral trade between both the countries,” Raja Akhtar said.