KARACHI: Dr. Fareed Iqbal Qureshi, Director General, Customs Valuation has said that Pakistan Customs is ready to constitute an advisory committee of the stakeholders from government and business community; and he has an open-door policy for addressing all the grievances.
He was addressing a meeting organized by Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on burning customs valuation issues; which saw participation from all provinces, major industrial estates and all major industrial sectors of the economy.
Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo, President FPCCI, said that despite the lapse of almost six months, the promise of an Advisory Committee comprising of key stakeholders has not yet been fulfilled; he was referring to the last visit of the then DG Customs Valuation to FPCCI in May 2021. The committee could have played an effective mediatory, consultative and facilitative role for the customs department; and, many issues would have been resolved by now, he added.
Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo also pointed out that the agreement in principle was reached with the customs department that the chronic issues and pending cases will be resolved in an expeditious manner and on a high-priority basis; but, FPCCI has not observed any such enthusiasm.
FPCCI President specifically raised the issue of scan prices valuations; where the importers have long been suffering due to valuations on the basis of different regions & markets than that of actual regions & markets. In most of the cases, the scan prices from different regions & markets result in higher valuations; and, the resultant losses to the importers and industries of Pakistan. This phenomenon is rendering the manufacturers & exporters of Pakistan uncompetitive; domestically, regionally and internationally, he added.
Shabbir Hassan Mansha, Convener of FPCCI’s Central Standing Committee on Customs, pointed out that valuation rulings more than 90 day old are not being revised in a timely manner; and, that creates hurdles and losses to the importers of the country. He added that the provisional assessments are also not being finalized within six months; as outlined in the Section 81 of the Customs Act 1969. Mr. Mansha also thanked DG Valuation for listening to individual concerns and inviting importers to his office at Customs House, Karachi for detailed discussions.
