The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will take a policy decision to tackle the issue of searching of transporters’ vehicles by Customs check posts, carrying goods from Karachi to different parts of the country.
FBR Chairman Asim Ahmed and Goods Forwarding Association are divided over the issue of checking of vehicles. The chairman has insisted on documentation by the transporters and presentation of documents of imports at the time of checking whereas the transporters are of the opinion that checking should only be done at the place of arrival/departure of vehicles, but no checking should be done during the transportation of vehicles from one place to another.
According to the brief submitted by the FBR to the Senate Standing Committee on Finance on Tuesday, Rawalpindi Goods Forwarding Association has complained that Customs goods are unnecessarily checked during transportation across the country on the pretext of being smuggled ones.
The complaint has been examined in the Board. The necessary legal changes in the Customs Act, 1969 will be considered in consultation with the stakeholders during the next budget 2023-24. However, the FBR has already taken serious notice of the complaints and issued directions in this regard.
