The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance Thursday highly appreciated the newly launched system called LIVE (Linking International Values) of the Directorate General Valuation (Customs), Karachi.
The system was discussed in detail during the meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance held in Karachi. The committee expressed satisfaction with the launch of the new system which has electronically linked price data of different commodities and goods from reputed international publications with the FBR’s systems.
In order to address the perennial problem of under-invoicing, Pakistan Customs developed an electronic solution which has been launched by the Directorate General Valuation (Customs), Karachi.
According to the presentation of the Directorate General Valuation (Customs), Karachi to the committee, the new system, called LIVE (Linking International Values), has been developed by the Directorate of Reforms & Automation team and it has been digitally integrated with the WeBOC system.
The system works by providing current price data of different commodities and goods from reputed international publications, which enables assessing officers to cross-check declared values and to re-assess in case of variations.
Overhauling the existing system for improving the assessment of imported goods is one of the main objectives of the current reform efforts. A number of interventions have been designed and made part of the Prime Minister’s Strategic Roadmap for plugging revenue leakages and reducing the tax gap.
The LIVE system was proposed by a team of Pakistan Customs, including current Member Customs – Operations, in a study report on Customs Valuation which was issued in May 2019. Other interventions recommended in the study included a robust Risk Management System, an effective Post Clearance Audit Department, and a cutting-edge ICT solution to deliver the complete eco-system at par with any developed economy. A few months ago, the fast-track implementation of all these recommendations was initiated by Pakistan Customs.
The new system not only makes the published value digitally visible to the assessing officers (AOs), but it also confirms its utilization by that assessing officer for the assessment of an item. Furthermore, such assessment becomes part of the ninety days data which would help in strengthening/improving the quality of the transactional value data, Directorate General Valuation (Customs), Karachi added.
