Finance Minister defends Customs, denies blackmailing Algerian community in ports and airports

There are problems concerning the treatment of the Algerian community by customs officers in ports and airports, Finance Minister, Abderrahmane Benkhalfa, said.

“Customs Department took a number of measures during the current summer season to facilitate the entry of the Algerian community to Algeria.”

Finance Minister replied, in a written question to the deputy for community, Noureddine Belmeddah, on the abuses of some agents in the customs and the rampant bribery and extortion that is suffered by the community at ports and airports, that the completion of customs procedures’ period by travelers during the summer season, was reduced since 2012, through approving of the green corridor which allows preferential facilities for passengers, especially children, the elderly and people with special needs, and it also recorded an improvement in the national medium deadlines to complete the customs procedures at the level of ports, which arrived in 2014 to one hour and 37 minutes compared to 6 hours in 2011.

In the same context, measures were taken to improve the reception through the establishment of reception cells and guidance on the level of border posts, and through putting a green number into service in 2014, as it was recorded, until May, 18, 2015 about 10 026 requests of information and 11 calls of reporting, and 79 protest calls.

All notifications and protests were sent to the specialized services for analysis and study, and a number was allocated to allow the sending of information and complaints through the mails, as services receive, since January 2014 until May, 28, 2015, about 2678 e-mails that were directed to the competent services, and the period between January,1, 2014 and March 31, 2015 noticed the study of 2735 complaints, that were received by the various central and regional services, including 1990 complaints that were addressed by 73%, as 745 complaints are still in the processing phase.

Regarding the claim install cameras to monitor the customs officers, to reduce violations, extortion and bribe demands of passengers, the minister said that the establishment of such devices remains the prerogative of the institutions responsible for the conduct of ports and airports, while it has been allocated 51 Scaner device to the Centers for travelers monitoring, control and assurance, without interference from agents, as has been monitoring 208 Aoun subjected to administrative penalties, “expulsion or judicial follow-up,” because of behavior related to corruption committed between 2008 and May 2015.