Daily Times

More than eleven slaughtering houses privately run in Karachi are involved in exporting cow and goat meat without a mandatory licence from Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Veterinary Department. More than 12 companies were involved in exporting meat to Middle East and other countries while this illegal slaughtering and export has been continuing for 12 years without any check from KMC or other authority, officials of KMC Veterinary Department informed.

Customs department has also closed its eyes, officials revealed.

In addition, these meat exporters have obtained international certification ISO 9001 from importers by concealing to have obtained KMC licence for this very purpose.

KMC officials disclosed that due to this illegal practice, KMC had so far lost around Rs 50 million in tax from a single exporter’s proceeds a year.

The department has initiated a survey to bring businesses under ambit of legal cover and KMC rules

Metropolitan Commissioner KMC Dr Saif-ur-Rehman, after unearthing of this illegal practice, said that he personally visited such sites and inquired about facts in this regard.

Confirming this, he informed that a committee headed by senior Director KMC Veterinary Department Jamil Farooqui was working to sort out this menace. Under prevailing rules for licence and after taking correctional measures, an accord was on cards with an exporting unit. “This is start of process to streamline the whole business. Besides, KMC would be able to generate millions of rupees in tax annually under this measure”, he maintained.

Jamil Farooqi said that the department has also initiated a survey to bring under ambit of KMC rules, those units selling or exporting meat without obtaining KMC licence. Besides, department stores involved in this business in Karachi would also be brought under licence cover.

Moreover, under KMC measures, around 5,000 meat sellers in parts of Karachi have so far been issued licences.

Another project under consideration of KMC is to bring chicken sellers in licence net and in this regard, work was underway, he informed.

Tata Best Foods Limited is first of companies which would be brought under legal cover, he said.

A firm shall not operate any slaughtering house, unless it will abide by terms and conditions. Slaughtering Control Act 1963, SLG Act 2013 and KMC animal slaughtering (zabiha), sale and licensing bye-laws including export permission would subsequently be strictly enforced.

One-time registration fee of Rs 200,000 and security deposit of Rs 500,000 (refundable after closing of operation) shall be deposited before obtaining a registration certificate.

Published in Daily Times, February 13^th 2019.