Damascus-SANA
The Syrian legislator classified the crime of smuggling goods into and out of Syria as criminal in terms of its seriousness that threatens the national economy, the damage it causes to the rights of the state treasury, the exchange rate of the Syrian pound, the local industry, and the proceeds of customs duties, in addition to the serious risks resulting from falsified or poorly preserved smuggled food products and medicines to public health.
The Damascus Customs Directorate in all its secretariats continues its work to combat smuggling in accordance with the provisions of the Customs Act No. 38 of 2006, in coordination with all the public authorities concerned, in particular the Ministries of Agriculture, Agrarian Reform, Internal Trade, Consumer Protection and Industry, the Farmers' Union and the Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture.
In order to simplify the procedures for transporting livestock between governorates for grazing while strictly preventing their smuggling outside the country, Damascus Customs Director Qutayba Khalouf indicated in a statement to SANA correspondent that an agreement was recently reached with the Ministry of Agriculture, which is to secure the presence of cadres from customs in areas far from customs secretariats one day a week periodically with the necessary equipment, to grant customs documents to breeders wishing to transport their livestock in coordination with the concerned Directorate of Agriculture.
Khalouf explained that the measure contributes to preventing the smuggling of sheep herds out of the country, and reducing the financial burdens on livestock owners as a result of having to travel to obtain customs documents from the concerned directorate, which allows them to transport their livestock for grazing between governorates.
Khalouf revealed that the total number of smuggling cases investigated by the directorate during the first quarter of this year amounted to 303 cases, 92 of which were referred to the judiciary, and the settlement was held on the rest of the 211 cases with fines estimated at several billion Syrian pounds, pointing out that the smuggled goods seized in the investigated cases included electrical appliances, ceramics, blankets, carpets, fabrics, household and health utensils (laundries), food, medical tools (dental necessity), games, medicines, screens and others.
With regard to the automation of customs work, regional customs directorates, including Damascus customs, according to Khalouf, have begun to automate cases with the types of goods, their economic status and the fees for each type, settlement contracts with the value of goods, prosecution deeds referred to the judiciary, the date of their referral and fines, the names of violators according to cases with detailed identities and addresses, automation of seizure warehouses and livestock transport data, in addition to intensive coordination with the State Lawsuits Department to speed up the implementation of customs judicial rulings in the public interest.
Waseem Al , Adawi
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