Her Majesty's Ordinance needs to keep abreast with international norms:

New Act doubles state revenue

By Manjula Fernando

Finance Minister, Ravi Karunanayake lashed out at some Customs trade unions for trying to peddle a political agenda and block the long felt reforms in the Customs Department to increase government revenue.

In a telephone interview with the Sunday Observer, the Minister said, the on going efforts to bring in a new Customs Act replacing the century old Customs Ordinance have been given misinterpretations by vested interests and the corrupt, but the majority of the Customs officials were taking part in the process giving ideas and support to the government.

"The Government needs to increase state revenue without burdening the general masses. No one should try to pull us down, as ultimately, it is the people who will suffer," he said, stressing that the new laws are not meant to cripple the customs officers' work or facilitate racketeers.

Q: The Customs trade unions are protesting against the new Customs Act proposed by the government. Will the government heed their voice ?

Trade unions cannot decide the fate of this country. People are languishing in hardship. They need to be given relief. We need to collect the real revenue to ease their burden. After the unity government took over there has been a tremendous increase in government revenue. I think, a majority of the customs officers, over 90%, are helping us to overcome the challenges and are giving ideas on how it should be done.

But, there is a minority, who are part of certain unions or bankrupt political parties, who ran amok under the Rajapaksa regime. They are trying to whip up trouble for the government. The government will not be guided by their whims and fancies. We are trying to keep in line with the world economic order, and standardize the customs department in keeping with international norms.

Q: Their main allegation is that there has not been a proper consultative process before the draft was prepared. Do you agree?

This is just a white paper. They are unable to grasp the difference between a white paper prepared for discussion, and a draft Bill. The Government needs to increase state revenue without burdening the general masses. We need to find ways and means to do that, and we are in the process of doing just that. No one should try to pull us down, as ultimately, it is the people who will suffer.

These trade unionists have opposed the measures that will increase state revenue, they are not measures to curtail their work or facilitate racketeers. We need to do what is good for the people of the country and not what suits some selective groups who have nothing but their own interests in mind and are working to promote someone's political agenda.

Q: The protesting trade unions express that some of the penalties in the present Ordinance have been reduced under the proposed law, for example, the death penalty for drug peddling. Your comments?

What rubbish? These are the people who allowed heroin shipments to enter the country all the time. We have blocked all those loopholes. We don't want any such cargo reaching our shores and entering the country. It is a policy decision of the Unity government and we have proved with action that we stand by that pledge.

Q: The Customs officers are questioning the need to bring in a brand new Act when the existing Ordinance is quite comprehensive and has been updated through 52 Amendments. Is that right?

That is a decision taken by the government. The government policy is to modernize existing laws to suit current needs. We have felt the need to rewrite the supreme law of the country, the Constitution. It has received the blessings of the people and the civil society as well.

The proposed law under discussion will double the annual revenue collected by the Customs Department, one of the key revenue generators of the state. We cannot allow the 'mischief makers' to dictate government policy.

Q: In their bid to muster support, they have met the chief prelates of Malwathu and Asgiriya Chapters, as well as the Archbishop of Colombo. Your comments?

I respect the Chief prelates who have said that these are matters of administrative nature.

Q: Is the government ready to discuss the concerns of the protesting customs officers and will their concerns be taken on board ?

These unionists have not understood the difference between a white paper and a draft bill. I don't know if we should waste time on such people. The government has however, started a dialogue and we will continue to consult the relevant parties before finalizing the bill.