KARACHI: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has proposed penalty for defaulting in payment for customs clearance by Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs).
The FBR issued SRO 263(I)/2021 dated February 23, 2021 and proposed amendment to Customs Rules, 2002 related to authorized economic operators.
According to the law, the authorized economic operator (AEO) is a certified entity which fulfils the security criteria and other laid down obligations and derives benefits as prescribed in the rules and may include manufacturers, importers, exporters, customs house agents, brokers, shipping lines, carriers, consolidators, intermediaries, port operators, airport operators, terminal operators, integrate operators, warehouse, distributors, freight forwarders and logistic service providers.
According to the proposed amendment the facility of deferred payment of duty and taxes will be provided in such manner that all duty and taxes payment in a month shall be paid within that month by the last day of the month in which the clearance was made, otherwise AEO holder shall pay surcharge at the rate of three percent plus KIBOR from date of clearance of goods, and shall be liable for action deemed appropriate by the regulatory collector under the applicable law, which may include the suspension or revocation of the AEO status.
