Customs and VAT employees launch work stoppage

The customs and VAT workers committee chairman claims that the Suari committee recommendations to divide the Tax Authority into 2 units severely harm the unit's employees
 
Customs and VAT workers at the Department of Customs and VAT have launched industrial action over the proposal of the Suari committee to reorganize their departments, bringing VAT under the income tax authority, and removing the customs department from taxauthority supervision.
 
Mr. Shmaya Salach, chairman of the Customs and VAT national worker’s committee, said last week that more than four months had passed since the worker’s committee had written to the Ministry of Finance asking it to state publicly whether it intended to adopt the recommendations of the Suari committee. So far, he said, nothing had been done, save for two meetings that produced no results.
 
The customs and VAT workers committee chairman claims that the Suari committee recommendations severely harm the unit's employees.
 
The Suari committee recommended the dividing of the Tax Authority into two units, reorganizing the hierarchies and the appointment of an income tax commissioner who would also serve as director of the Tax Authority.
 
It is understood that most of the public bodies that appeared before the Suari committee, including former Ministry of Finance director general Joseph Bachar, argued that the Tax Authority consolidation should be revoked.
 
The Israeli Federation of Customs Brokers and International Freight Forwarders who were among the first to appear before the committee made it clear that as long as the Customs Directorate is not given a complete freedom, the quality of import and export services would suffer.
 
Workers launched last week work stoppage, closing down the automatic computerized customs clearing system creating havoc at both maritime and air ports.
Workers do, however, allow fresh agricultural produce to be flown out of Israel maily to EU markets.