FBR app to help international travellers declare currency

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday launched a mobile application named Pass Track with regard to the currency declaration for international travelers.

“The mobile App “Pass Track” has been modified to facilitate passengers to declare currency while traveling to and from Pakistan even before coming to airport, Member Custom Mukarram Jah Ansari told media here after the launch of App.

He said the testing of the App has been completed and many new features have been incorporated so that passengers can easily fill in all the required information.

It may be recalled that the State Bank of Pakistan issued notification last month to revise the cash carrying limits for outbound passengers.

Accordingly, the FBR has notified the revised cash carrying limits.

About the limits for passengers traveling abroad except Afghanistan, Ansari said that according to the revised notification, the maximum limit per person per visit has been reduced to $5,000 and the annual limit has also been set at $30,000.

Similarly for people below 18 years of age, the maximum cash limit for a person has been set at $2,500 per visit while the annual limit has also been revised down to $15,000.

For those traveling to Afghanistan, the maximum limit for carrying cash in foreign currency is $1,000 per person per visit, while the maximum limit per year is $6,000. Ansari said any incoming passengers when in possession of foreign currency exceeding $10,000 or equivalent is also foreign currency exceeding $10,000 or equivalent is also required to file declaration.

Moreover, Pakistani currency can be taken out with a maximum limit of Rs10,000. The SBP has also made it mandatory for every person carrying foreign currency to file a declaration with Customs.

In order to make it convenient for international passengers, Pakistan Customs has obtained help from National Technology Board (NTTB) to develop a web-based mobile App to electronically file the declaration.

Giving details of the App’s features, he said it is available on App store and Play store for downloading.

The Web version of the App is also available.

He said the App provides step by step guidance to the travelers making it easier for them to file declaration and any person can register on the App using his/her mobile number. Passengers will provide personal data once, and on the next visit, the system will auto populate the form on logging in, he said, adding that the App will show the previous declaration in the calendar year and available annual limit.