Petition filed in SC over alleged violation of RTI by Customs Director General

Thursday, 17 November 2016 00:52 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Shanika Sriyananda

A petition against the Director General of Customs (DGC) Chulananda Perera was filed in the Supreme Court yesterday, under the Right to Information Act for denying access to information on vehicles imported tax-free through parliamentarians’ duty free car permits.

Petitioner Nagananda Kodituwakku, a public interest litigation activist, who has conducted an in-depth investigation into the abuse of tax-free car permits by MPs, both from the ruling party and the Opposition, has requested the Supreme Court to make an order compelling the DGC to make the information requested available.

Kodituwakku, who is a lawyer, said that he had made the request to obtain the relevant information twice but the DGC refrained from releasing the vital piece of information on this serious abuse of public office by most MPs.

“I made requests on 28 October and again on 10 November to obtain this information but the DGC refrained from issuing them apparently under pressure to protect the interests of dishonest MPs who will face prosecution. The DGC’s improper conduct amounts to a clear violation of Article 14 A of the Constitution and Section 3 of the Right to Information Act No. 12 of 2016,” he told the Daily FT.

In the petition Kodituwakku also states that the DGC, who holds a high public office, is constitutionally bound to combat the misuse of public property and protect and prevent any form of revenue fraud under Article 28 of the Constitution.

He noted that the DGC’s primary duty was the collection and protection of government revenue as stipulated by Section 2 of the Customs Ordinance but his conduct led to patent abuse of public office.

He explained that the duty free permits for MPs were issued purely on trust and not for their personal benefit.

“I am sure that the citizens of this country never imagined that MPs would ever abuse this privilege by selling their tax-free permits to motorcar dealers and sharing the tax revenue that would be defrauded with the use of the tax-free permits to clear the vehicles,” he stressed.

He has presented a document titled ‘Unlawful registration of vehicles imported on MP tax-free permits without payment of levies’ to the Supreme Court which was earlier submitted to the Commissioner General of Motor Traffic (CGMT) and to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) but no tangible action has been taken.

Kodituwakku said that the information obtained from the CGMT, which revealed the transfer of vehicles imported on MP tax-free permits to new owners, who are not entitled to enjoy the tax-free concessions afforded only to the MPs (having regard to the economic development of the country) in terms of Section 3C of the Excise Special Previsions (Amendment) Act No. 8 of 1994, amounts to a clear violation of the said law for the improper purpose of unjust enrichment.