Vehicle registration: From dusty files to computer hard drives

The process will stem corruption in excise department.

ISLAMABAD:

The Excise and Taxation Department (ETD) has launched computerised process of vehicles registration.

In May this year, it was decided to introduce an electronic filing system for vehicles aimed to end the presence of touts by facilitating vehicle owners.

On Saturday, the administration formally launched the project of computerised registration of vehicles, said Excise and Taxation Director Naila Baqir.

The official said a private firm, awarded a contract for two years, has developed the electronic software which will computerise the record of registered vehicles in the department. “Through this system, we would be able to eliminate the incident of file thefts by touts in connivance with ETD officers” the official said.

Baqir said that through this project, the department would be able to eliminate corrupt practices in the department.

“Missing files would be traced easily through this system’’ she added.

She said the registration of old vehicles, numbering half a million, would be computerised while all new vehicles would be directly computerised.

Another official said the department had registered 25,428 vehicles during the first six months of this year.

While giving further details about the project, the official said the contract was awarded in January this year to the lowest bidder after four companies took part in the bidding process.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2013.