NBR seeks opinions about continuation of PSI system

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FE Report
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) Tuesday sought reports on the opinions expressed by field-level officers on the continuation of pre-shipment inspection (PSI) system within next seven days.
The board Tuesday held a meeting with all customs house commissioners for their opinions on the performances of PSI companies.
It has received mixed opinions from the Customs House commissioners on continua tion of the system.
The opinions expressed were mixed with some commissioners in favour of continuing the system as the customs departments were ill-equipped to do the job of PSI while others strongly opposed it claiming irregularities.
The government introduced mandatory PSI system in 2002.
In the meeting, the board scrutinised last two year's performance of PSI company Cotecna.
Most of the commissioners have expressed their dissatisfaction over the performance of Cotecna as irregularities had been detected in an investigation.
The meeting also discussed whether it would renew the contract of the existing four PSI companies after expiry of their tenure on August 31, 2008, sources said.
As a part of assimilating opinions of different stakeholders, the NBR Tuesday held the first meeting with field-level officers.
The board will take final decision after receiving opinions of all stakeholders involved in the PSI system, sources concerned said.