ISLAMABAD: Importers will not be allowed to avail of the facility of provision valuation for goods declaration when the valuation of such goods is already in the field.
An important amendment has been made into Customs Act, 1969 through Tax Laws (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2021, which was promulgated through presidential order on September 15, 2021.
A proviso has been inserted to Section 81 of the Customs Act, 1969 to disallow provisional valuation.
Following is the amended text of Section 81:
81. Provisional determination of liability.- (1) Where it is not possible for an officer of Customs during the checking of the goods declaration to satisfy himself of the correctness of the assessment of the goods made under section 79 or 131, for reasons that the goods require chemical or other test or a further inquiry, an officer, not below the rank of Assistant Collector of Customs, may order that the duty, taxes and other charges payable on such goods, be determined provisionally:
Provided that the importer, save in the case of goods entered for warehousing, pays such additional amount on the basis of provisional assessment or furnishes corporate guarantee or pay order of a scheduled bank along with an indemnity bond for the payment thereof as the said officer deems sufficient to meet the likely differential between the final determination of duty, taxes and other charges over the amount determined provisionally:
Provided further that there shall be no provisional assessment under this section if no differential amount of duty and taxes and other charges is paid or secured against corporate guarantee or pay order.
Following is the new proviso added to Section 81:
“Provided further that no provisional determination of value shall be allowed in those cases where a valuation ruling (VR) is in the field, irrespective of the fact whether any review or revision against that VR is pending in terms of section 25D or relevant rules, as the case may be.”
