THE Internal Revenue Commission’s ongoing efforts to crack down on Customs offenders continued last Wednesday when an Indian national was found guilty of bribery by the Rabaul district court.
In a statement, IRC Commissioner General Betty Palaso said Rajesh Itham, an employee of Health Department attached with the Base Medical Store in Rabaul, was found guilty on two counts for trying to bribe a Customs officer and for failing to produce proper documentation of several imported items.
“Itham was arrested last year after he had imported some personal items and literature that were not supported by invoices for duty assessment. The incident occurred last July 31,” she said.
Ms Palaso said Customs officers had then requested from Itham documents to determine the value of the goods and was assessed a 200% security deposit of K505.44 to clear the goods and provisionally to allow the goods on security pending the production of the desired documents.
But during the inquiry, Itham was not able to produce the required documents.
Instead, he allegedly offered a female Customs officer K50 and body sprays as a bribe to allow the goods without any further inquiry.
“Such practices are in violation of Section 154 of the Customs Act and this case should act as a deterrent to anyone intending to offer anything in the form of gifts and bribes to customs officers. It is a violation of the IRC Customs Code of Ethics and Public Service Act.”
Ms Palaso had commended IRC Islands regional director Lydia Wartovo and her staff, especially Theonila Miles, for their efforts in reporting the bribe attempt and filing a case against the offender and for upholding practices of honesty and integrity in the workplace.