The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is expected to abolish the condition of 'Jawaznama' for Afghan importers, and reduce the number of copies of goods declaration (GD) from nine to six to be submitted by the Afghan businessmen for clearance as far as transit trade consignments are concerned under the Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA).
Sources told Business Recorder here on Monday that Pakistan may also take away the condition of printing 'IN TRANSIT TO AFGHANISTAN' on all packages of transit consignments for the genuine importers under the APTTA. The FBR has also agreed to incorporate a provision in the relevant rules to allow transportation of perishable goods in transit (like fruits and vegetables etc) in open trucks.
The FBR has accepted proposals of Afghan customs authorities and importers to introduce comprehensive amendments in the Afghan Transit Trade Rules, 2011. The Afghan side pointed out that nine copies of the GD are excessive and should be reduced to a reasonable number. The FBR has agreed to reduce the number of copies of GD to six and promised to revisit the issue once Electronic Data Interface (EDI) is established between the two countries.
The Afghan side asked not to require 'Jawaznama' and authorisation from the Afghan traders, and undertaking from the concerned customs agent, as the same are not required under the agreement. It was agreed that the Afghan customs would update the FBR on the official position for the requirement of 'Jawaznama' in their country to enable FBR to make necessary changes accordingly in the rules, if required.
Under the Afghan Transit Trade Rules 2011, the transport operator or the customs agent shall file the goods declaration accompanied by importability documents including valid 'jawaznama' for Afghan Transit Trade (ATT) commercial goods in original (import permit) attested or verified by the respective Afghan Consulate. This condition of 'Jawaznama' for Afghan importers is expected to be abolished under the Afghan Transit Trade Rules 2011.
It was pointed out by the Afghan side that the definition of 'Customs Security' should be separated for goods and vehicles. Responding to this, the FBR has agreed to bring the definition of 'Customs Security' in the rules in line with that given in Protocol 3 of the agreement.
According to sources, the Afghan side raised the issue of onward submission of duplicate copy of GD by the office en route to the office of destination at Afghanistan and stated that as transit terminates on the entry to Afghanistan and GD is filed at Border Crossing Point, therefore, as per the understanding of Afghan side of the agreement border check posts (BCPs) are office of destination. The Pakistan side referred to the relevant Protocol of the APTTA in this regard. In three of the agreement, three separate Customs offices ie Office of departure, Office en route and Office of destination, are mentioned and that according to Pakistan side the office of destination is where the GD is filed and duty/taxes are paid and that the Office en route and Office of destination can be the same or can be separate, depending on destination of the consignment.
It was decided that FBR would examine the issue in detail and inform the Afghan side before the next Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Co-ordination Authority (APTTCA) meeting. Sources said that the Pakistan side highlighted the issue of non-verification of lists containing details of the duplicate and quadruplicate copies of the GD by the Afghan Customs at Torkhum. The Afghan side promised to advise the local office to sort out the problem and co-ordinate with Pakistan Customs.
Sources stated that the issue of valuation was raised by the Afghan side and it was stated that correct values are not being applied on Afghan transit imports and discrimination is being exercised in this regard. It was agreed that the value of goods in transit shall be ascertained at par with goods imported into Pakistan.
The Afghan side objected to the provision of 100 percent scanning of transit containers at office of departure and office en route. The Pakistan side said that at present the provision of scanning is suspended and further course of action in this regard would depend on the installation/availability of scanners at the respective places. It was agreed that all transit containers will be scanned, on availability of scanners, at the office of departure and that at the office en route scanning would be done on the basis of risk management.
The Afghan side pointed out that the existing provision of examination of 5 percent of the consignments is not in line with the APTTA. It was agreed to re-phrase the rules in accordance with the agreement by mentioning examination of up to 5 percent of the containers. The FBR also assured to ensure strict compliance of the examination related provisions of the Agreement.
The difficulties in complying with the requirement of marks and numbers 'IN TRANSIT TO AFGHANISTAN' on all packages of transit consignments were highlighted by the Afghan side. They also said that this requirement is not given in APTTA. The Pakistani side stated that they would look into this to ameliorate the hardships faced in this regard by genuine importers.
It was stated that since banks in Afghanistan are not coming forward to provide bank guarantee to the transporters, the proposal of issuing undertaking by the respective governments, instead of bank guarantee, may be considered for the movement of transport units through their respective territories. The option of bilateral carnet-de-passage was discussed and it was agreed that the same would be proposed for approval of APTTCA.
Sources said that the understanding of Afghan side regarding Article 18 of Protocol Three is that 'Customs Security' should be released on the filing of GD (T1) on the Afghan side. The Pakistan side pointed out that the Customs Security is to be released in accordance with Article 18 of the Protocol Three of the agreement. It was decided that FBR would examine the issue in detail and inform the Afghan side before the next meeting of the Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Co-ordination Authority (APTTCA).
The Afghan side stated that there is no need for verification/registration of transit consignments at different customs check posts inside Pakistan. After discussion it was decided that only the last customs check post en route shall be used for verification/registration. It was also agreed that once the tracking system is put in place the issue would be revisited. Sources said that the Afghan side stated that the existing provision be re-visited and be made compliant with APTTA. The agreement allows the Afghan empty trucks to enter Pakistan and to carry any goods from Pakistan for Afghanistan. The FBR is of the opinion that the agreement is silent about the position and feels that the permission is currently being denied by default. It was agreed to put up the Afghan position jointly before Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Co-ordination Authority (APTTCA).
The Afghan side stated that the provision of examination of transit goods/containers in the presence of the concerned Assistant or Deputy Collector should be done away with. The FBR has agreed to amend the said provision by requiring the examination to be done by the concerned customs officer, sources added.
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