A family owned company engaged in imports said that it tried to conduct its business activities without having to bribe Customs officials but had to quit as the company made more losses as a result. "For about eight months we tried to carry out our dealings with Customs without having to pay bribes to get our goods cleared. But we could not continue to do so any longer. "It became increasingly difficult for us to clear goods on time and we had to pay arbitrary duties which made our products more expensive than our competitors," a director of the company told the Island Financial Review on the sidelines of a seminar on Building Integrity and Transparency in Business Relationships organised by transparency international. It was done in such a way that it all seemed legal. "They would openly ask for a bribe for about Rs. 15,000 or Rs. 20,000 and when we refuse it they tell us that the consignment has to undergo a full inspection resulting in a delay which goes on for days. "Sometimes when our documents are submitted for clearing the goods along with the bank cashier’s order for the Customs duty, we are told that the calculations are incorrect or that some new rule or the other had been introduced. "If I had to pay Customs Rs. 500,000 they would tell me that it should be Rs. 900,000. But this problem can be taken care of with a bribe," he said. He also happened to be a member of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors and we asked him what measures the institute was taking. "Giving bribes to Custom officials is nothing new and I have seen many big companies clear their goods without any hassle at the docks and since our company began to tow the line we have had no problems whatsoever. "The institute asked me to participate in this seminar and we need to work together to fight bribery because alone we will be ineffective and our businesses suffer," he said. During the eight months the company tried to go ‘bribe-free’ it saw its competitors release goods into the market before they did and at much cheaper prices. So clearly, the incentive to satisfy one’s conscience is not a luxury that many can afford. Custom Chief’s response Sri Lanka Customs Director General Sarath Jayatilake said that this is a big problem they encounter. "Bu the culprits are probably the wharf clerks and not the customs officials and we have come across incidents where they inform Customs that a consignment is not in order and that it should be held for inspection. "Many confuse the wharf clerks with customs officials. They are free-lance agents who facilitate the port clearance procedures on behalf of the importer. They may be soliciting bribes to speed up the process. But we have not received any complaints," Jayatilake said. Jayatilake said that no complaints had been made and that it was unclear as to what extent bribery was prevalent. "We have come across instances where importers had colluded with some Custom officials to clear goods unlawfully. "There are instances where big multinationals under-invoice their consignments through Royalty payments, dividends and transfer prices. "Some importers open up LC’s with one bank while the payment is made through another bank, and when they clear the goods they present the document with the lesser value so as to minimize the duty. "But we have computerized our processes, we can now track the whole process," he said. |
