Comptroller Flags Widespread Valuation Fraud At Customs And Excise Division
Valuation fraud is one of the issues facing the Customs and Excise Division.
That is according to Comptroller of Customs and Excise Riad Juman during a sitting of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament on Wednesday.
He said the Division is in the process of upgrading its ASYCUDA system for greater efficiency, as it actively seeks to address the issue of valuation fraud.
« There is a major issue that we have with inconsistent values. Valuation fraud is a big problem that the Customs faces. At one of the previous committees like this I sat, there was overvaluation being an issue there. »
Mr Juman explained that investigations conducted by the Customs and Excise Division have revealed how prevalent the issue is.
« Every importer that brings in their items has paid the proper price for it. But when I have my valuation officers in there doing due diligence, finding that the established, acceptable value for the items is identical or similar being way above that, and in quite a few instances, the actual invoices are provided or are revealed during our investigations, we see exactly how prevalent valuation fraud is. »
The Comptroller of Customs and Excise said training is ongoing for officers in the Valuations Department.
« The Valuations Department, as I said, is very specialised, and we do have specialist training for all officers who then undergo additional training with the Valuations Department. »
The Committee was conducting an inquiry into the operational efficiency of the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago.
