Stopping fake goods serious task

THE PNG Customs Service is aware that criminals are bypassing the systems and processes in place to smuggle cargo into the country.
Commissioner Ray Paul said the government was serious about addressing problems that arose as a result of the movement of people or cargo across national borders and that included the issue of counterfeit products in the country
“As I have stated many times already, there are hundreds of companies and individuals importing goods and products on a daily basis,” he said.
“While PNG Customs uses a profiling and targeting system to identify containers for full inspection, it would be virtually impossible to conduct a full scale check on all containers brought into the country.
“If we were to stop all containers for full inspection, the exercise would cost both the Government and the importers millions of kina.”
Paul said the profiling and targeting system was the same used in many countries around the world.
“This is not a problem for Customs alone to deal with but for all relevant stakeholders to work together to address,” he said.
“More collaboration and cooperation is needed with relevant stakeholders such as the Intellectual Property Office of PNG, Independent Consumer and Competition Corporation, The National Institute of Standards and Industrial Technology, Department of Health and the Royal PNG Constabulary.”
Paul said the absence of a national standards for all types of imported products that continued to be claimed as fake or counterfeit was a problem.
“May I caution those that commonly use the words fake and counterfeit to be mindful to have substantive evidence with your claim or when tried in the courts you may have some unforseen challenges,” he said.
“In the absence of a National Standards Policy anything that is declared to Customs we do facilitate and collect duties and taxes unless the imported item is prohibited, restricted, or where a regulator for example the Department or NICTA (National Information and Communications Technology Authority) has restrictions on.”