Skip to main content

China to help FBR reduce misdeclarations

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China have decided to enter into an agreement to control misdeclaration at the country’s ports as the menace has been causing massive revenue losses and hurting foreign investment.

The decision comes at a time when the government is taking measures to control corruption within the customs department systematically.

“We have authorised Pakistan’s ambassador to China Naghmana Hashmi to sign the draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU),” said the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Shabbar Zaidi on Monday.

The draft for the MoU was prepared by China’s State Administration of Taxes to enable tax authorities from both Islamabad and Beijing to share data and learn from each other’s best practices.

China has come a long way in controlling misdeclaration at ports. According to some estimates, at one stage, total misdeclaration at Chinese ports had reached $7-8 billion per annum however that number has decreased significantly over the years.

Both Pakistani and Chinese customs authorities have yet to agree on the variations of their reported figures.

The misdeclarations are usually of three kinds: value of goods, description (Pakistan Customs Tariff heading) and weight. It can also occur by availing wrong exemptions.

The FBR chairman told Dawn that under the proposed agreement, China will provide on the spot information regarding exports to Pakistan. “This cooperation on government to government level will help control 1misdeclaration,” Zaidi hoped.

The local markets are flooded with misdeclared imported goods. An internal review of the customs department has identified a wide margin of misdeclaration in value and quantity of imported goods from China, a senior customs officer told Dawn.

“Entry of goods into the markets without passing through proper channels is not possible without the connivance of customs officers”, he said while adding that the data has been shared with the Chinese authorities for reconciliation.

“We will tackle this menace through automation”, the chairman said, adding that these illegal goods are now being sold in every market across the country.

China is sharing data with Pakistan in a very limited way on products covered under the free trade agreement on quarterly basis. “We need this sharing of data on the spot to control the misdeclaration”, the chairman said.

The FBR had initiated action against misdeclaration after data from Web-Based One Customs System Glo (WeBOC-Glo) was analysed.

The data showed around 62 per cent of the total 69,000 goods declarations showed differences in assessed value and declared value of goods. On the other hand, around 21pc of the misdeclarations were made in weight and quantity.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2019



from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/2YdiW5f
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trump says he urged team to ‘slow’ COVID-19 testing

US President Donald Trump said Saturday he was encouraging health officials in his administration to slow down coronavirus testing, arguing that increased tests lead to more cases being discovered. The president has claimed falsely on several occasions that surges of COVID-19 in several states can be explained by greater numbers of diagnostic tests. At his first rally since the outbreak forced nationwide shutdowns in March, Trump told the crowd in Tulsa, Oklahoma that testing was a “double-edged sword.” The United States — which has more deaths and cases than any other country — has carried out more than 25 million coronavirus tests, placing it outside the top 20 countries in the world, per capita. “Here is the bad part: When you do testing to that extent, you are going to find more people, you will find more cases,” Trump argued. “So I said to my people ‘slow the testing down.’ They test and they test.” It was not clear from Trump’s tone if he was playing to the crowd, who ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rouhani calls Imran, discusses resumption of trade

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran on Wednesday discussed full resumption of bilateral trade, which was halted last month because of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The two sides stressed the need to reactivate borders and border markets and strengthen trade ties by following health guidelines,” a statement issued by the Iranian presidency on the telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Dr Hassan Rouhani said. President Rouhani had called the prime minister for Ramazan greetings. Border trade between the two countries was suspended after a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC), held on March 13, decided to close all borders because of the pandemic. Islamabad partially relaxed the restrictions on April 21, allowing the import of certain food items and provision of petrol and diesel to the border areas. Cargo traffic from Iran was allowed for three days every week. Cargo movement between the two countries takes place through five border crossings — Taftan...
Post a Comment
Read more

Today’s outlook: Sindh CM discusses reopening markets with PM Khan

Here are some of the stories we are expecting to follow today (Thursday): Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah will take Prime Minister Imran Khan into confidence over reopening shops and markets across the province. The reopened markets will have to follow SOPs. Sindh Transport Minister Awais Qadir Shah will discuss SOPs with transporters for resuming public transport in the coming days. The meeting will be held at the Sindh Assembly building at 1:30pm. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has proposed a price cut of Rs20.68 per litre for petrol in its summary. Imam-e-Kaaba Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais has said Masjid Al Haram and Masjid Al Nabawi will be reopened for worshipers soon. He said the Kaaba is being sterilised using latest technologies. Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar will head various meetings during his visit to Bahawalpur. As of Thursday, Pakistan has reported more than 15,500 confirmed coronavirus cases. ICYMI: An amendment to the National Accountability Or...
Post a Comment
Read more