Pakistan and Afghanistan will issue a Temporary Admission Document (TAD) to allow vehicles from either country to enter their territories for the international carriage of goods under the Afghan Transit Trade.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has proposed further amendments to the Customs Rules 2001 through SRO 550 in this regard. The amendments entail that the officials of the embassies and some designated consulates of both countries will be authorized to issue the TAD for a fee of $100. The TAD will be valid for 180 days (six months), with multiple entries and a maximum stay of 30 days in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Pakistan Customs and the Afghanistan Ministry of Transport will share a list of approved transport operators and vehicles. When new transport operators or vehicles are added to the list, the other side will immediately be informed via email, and both sides will nominate focal persons for the timely exchange of this information.
The transport operators holding the TAD can carry transit goods and bilateral goods, and any truck found transporting goods between the two destinations inside the territory of the contracting party will be blacklisted. The TAD will be valid only for prescribed routes and crossing points.
The Afghan transit trade allows for the cross-stuffing (moving goods from one container to another) of containerized cargo both inside the seaport terminals where the cargo arrives and at any approved off-dock terminals (ODT) in separately demarcated areas.
The Customs Computerized System (CCS) will provide the option of cross-stuffing at the time of GD filing.
If the trader or their representatives choose the cross-stuffing option at the seaport terminal, they must also provide the old container number(s), new or empty container number(s), the name of the bonded carrier, and the vehicle registration number. The Customs Computerized System (CCS) will generate three messages simultaneously for the specific GD along with all the information provided by the trader.
After cross-stuffing, the examiner will enter his report into the CCS along with photographs of the cargo, and will affix the post-cross-stuffing seal on the new container in which the goods have been cross-stuffed. Following the report’s submission, the system will question the examiner about any discrepancies discovered.
The Pakistan Customs Container Security System (PCCSS) staff will check the Transport Note and weighment slip and will verify the seal of the container. The staff will create a container entry report (CER) for the incoming container into the system, and any discrepancy observed regarding the seal, weight, transport note, or any other aspect will be recorded in it.
If a trader or their representatives choose the 11 cross-stuffing options while filing a GD, they must also provide information about the old container number(s), new or empty container number(s), the name of the bonded carrier, and the vehicle registration number. The CCS will simultaneously generate three messages for the specific GD along with all the information provided by the trader.
For any other action taken under the law and the procedure under these rules, the bonded carrier will bear all the expenses incurred on the restuffing or repacking of the goods, including the duty and taxes leviable on goods that were pilfered or damaged on the way to or from the ODT under this procedure.
The bank guarantee or defense saving certificates submitted by the transport operators at the time of the issuance of the license will be considered for the recovery of the number of duties and taxes, fine, and penalty, if any, for the cargo during the course of transportation from the port of entry to the ODT, and in case of any eventuality, such as damage, pilferage, theft, fire, accident, etc.
