Customs Dispute: PNG Tobacco Factory Shut Down Unjustly

According to the Post Courier's report on May 20th, David Towe, the Commissioner of Papua New Guinea Customs, clarified over the weekend that the cigarette manufacturing company that was searched and closed in Lae last week had actually been complying with all customs requirements and had already obtained operational permits.

In a post he shared on a business networking platform, he stated that compliance managers from customs are part of a team of government agencies that inspect businesses. They informed the government team that the company had a license to manufacture cigarettes, but their advice was ignored.

In his post, he stated: "I would like to inform everyone that this facility is a tobacco manufacturing factory licensed by the Papua New Guinea Customs Service with permission from the Parliament. New Britain Tobacco Limited obtained a manufacturing license under the Consumption Tax Act 1965 in March 2024, and they have met all the regulations and conditions set by customs. Our compliance officer was on site during the search and confirmed that the facility is licensed."

After weeks of continuous monitoring, a joint team conducted an on-site inspection of the factory in Lahore on May 7. It was found that the factory did not meet certain local and central government regulations, leading to the suspension of its operations.

Papua New Guinea Islands Police District Commander, Perou N. Dranu, also stated yesterday that health, labor, provincial construction committee, and other regulations have not yet been met by any factory, therefore customs approval does not grant it the authority to manufacture tobacco.

He said, "The final decision lies with the local government health and sanitation office in Label. Although the factory has been in operation since March, the review committee has not yet sat down to review all the licenses mentioned above."

James Barasulu, the Regional Operations Manager and Assistant Commissioner of the Papua New Guinea Customs Authority, informed the Director General of Customs in a brief report that a newspaper article published last week was misleading.