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Government has unearthed a scam in which about K100, 000.00 is lost daily at Nakonde border in Muchinga Province through non-compliance of penalty fees for not having a certificate of roadworthiness on imported vehicles from Japan.
Importers of Vehicles are allegedly conniving with Customs Clearing agents to defraud the government by not paying the penalty charges as required by the law.
Government through the Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) is supposed to charge a penalty fee on each imported vehicle from Japan passing through Nakonde border that has no certificate of road worthiness from the Japan Export Vehicle Inspection Centre Company Limited ( JEVIC).
The penalty fee is calculated from the Cost Insurance Freight (CIF) of a specific vehicle and the penalty charges range from K1, 800 to K4,200 per vehicle.
In an interview with ZANIS Muchinga Province Minister Gerry Chanda said he is disturbed that the government is losing such huge amounts of money at Nakonde border through such a syndicate.
Colonel Chanda yesterday led a combined team of law enforcement officers and the provincial administration staff on a random snap check to see the compliance levels of payment of penalty fees for imported vehicles from Japan without a roadworthiness certificate.
The team that mounted a check point near Katongo Village, about 22 km from Nakonde border was also checking for the authenticity of the certificate of roadworthiness on imported vehicles from Japan.
A total of 12 vehicles were impounded in a two-hour operation with a total value of K29, 577 that should have been paid to ZABS as penalty fees.
All the defaulters were made to pay and receipts issued to them by ZABS before proceeding to their various destinations.
Colonel Chanda warned that Government will get to the bottom of the issue and ensure that all those involved are dealt with accordingly.
The Provincial Minister added that customs clearing agents aiding importers to avoid paying the penalty charges risked having their licences revoked.
He said that the Government under the able leadership of President Michael Sata has embarked on an enormous programme of infrastructure development in all the corners of the country and that the government needs the revenue collected by various agencies to finance the projects.
Colonel Chanda directed all security wings in the province to work together in enforcing the law saying there is no way a defaulting vehicle could be allowed to pass through the exit customs gate at Nakonde and pass through all the check points on the Great North Road without being impounded.
“It’s a big puzzle. Security agencies also need to wake up and do a good job that which they were employed for. Honestly how can a defaulting vehicle pass through an exit gate at customs yard in
Nakonde and proceed all the way to its final destination without being impounded ,” he wondered.
Colonel Chanda said the provincial administration will soon constitute a team comprising of the anti-corruption commission, the Zambia Police, Office of the President (Special Division), Immigration, and
the Zambia Revenue Authority ( ZRA) that will be conducting routine and random checks on the Great North Road to check on the performance of various agencies tasked with the collection of revenue on behalf of the government.
He warned that officers implicated in scandals of defrauding the Government will be dismissed instantly because the PF Government has discarded the practice of transferring erring officers.
Colonel Chanda said other areas being probed are the reported cases of human trafficking, under clearing of goods and smuggling.
