Customs to verify Pak-China FTA certificates electronically

KARACHI: Pakistan Customs on Tuesday announced that going forward Pak-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) certificates would be verified electronically to expedite the clearance of consignments at the port as the manual procedure was causing long delays.

Mrs Surraiya Butt, Chief Collector Appraisement (South), in a meeting with the representatives of Karachi Customs Agents Association (KCAA), directed the concerned officials to start verifying these certificates through Electronic Data Exchange (EDE), henceforth.

During the discussion, the KCAA representatives explained to the collector that manual confirmation of the FTA certificates, being a tedious procedure, took several days, delaying the consignment clearance. The Free Trade Agreement between Pakistan and China was signed in 2006 and came into force in 2007. Pakistan has granted duty and tax concessions on large number of tariff lines but those are subject to certificates issued by Chinese authorities.

Recently, Pakistan and Chinese customs started exchanging information of consignments data through the EDE in order to avoid misuse of the facility.

The KCAA representatives said the EDE had been implemented and the FTA certificates should be verified through such online information. The chief collector agreed to the suggestion and issued instructions in this regard. Mohammad Amin Essani, president KCAA, headed the customs agents’ team at the meeting, while Arshad Khurshid, general secretary KCAA, was also present on the occasion.

The customs side was represented by Wajid Ali, Collector of Customs MCC-Appraisement (East), Dr Nadeem Memon, Collector of Customs MCC-(Port Qasim), Mumtaz Ali Khoso, and Additional Collectors of Customs of MCC-Appraisement (East) & (West). The chief collector on the occasion said the collection of legitimate taxes in a friendly environment and trade facilitation was the main focus and top priority agenda of Pakistan Customs.

She assured the agents of full cooperation of her department to resolve the issues being faced by the trade on spot through open door policy.

Besides online verification of the FTA certificates, the Pakistan Customs also agreed to simplify refund process. It was also decided to process the refund claims through online system instead of manual system.