PaCCS to continue on express desire of users'' club

''Agility'', the owner of Pakistan Automated Customs Computerised System (PaCCS), which had indicated to close down the facility from February 28, has decided to play soft and would continue the system on the express desire of PaCCS users'' club beyond that date in the hope that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) would resume negotiations soon.
According to information available here, members of the ''club'' have stressed on implementation of Pakistan''s first and only automated customs computerised system, and urged the FBR to take up the matter seriously, instead of pushing Agility to the wall. They have demanded immediate decision on the issue with Agility before it shuts down the system and calls International Court of Justice (ICJ) for settlement of the dues. Last week, Agility had informed the FBR to recommence negotiations, otherwise the system would be permanently rolled back after February 28. Users'' club members say that Agility has assured that it would allow some more time to the FBR, and might not shut down the system till such time as the FBR responds to their request. They are confident that the issue would be resolved soon.
In 2007, the system was launched on the concept of public-private partnership in the country aimed to automate customs procedures. Initially, it was installed in Karachi International Containers Terminal (KICT). The company has a legal right to pursue the issue in the court for settlement of dues but prefers continuation of the automated system because it was tailored for the unique requirement of Pakistan Customs. Also, the company has served the customs for almost five years now and believes that rollback is not in favour of both Agility and industry.
All indications are available that Agility enjoys fabulous support of trade bodies because with the system introduced by the company is user-friendly and corruption-free. A leading industrialist said he was satisfied with PaCCS, adding that development of the country is impossible without automated processes requiring no human contact.
A system in which files could be lost, stolen or simply disappear is not encouraging. "We prefer automated machines working without fear or favour," he said. The automated system has enabled importers and exporters to file Declarations to Customs over the web from their offices anywhere in the country, pay their duties on taxes at their nearest National Bank branch and could clear cargo without ever having to visit any customs office or coming in contact with any custom official. It is paperless web-enabled environment for submitting Goods Declaration and self-assessment of the customs dues. The foolproof system has proved its effectiveness and contributed towards transparency. The system had suspended its operations on May 28, 2010 for just one day, which resulted in huge delays in the clearance of cargo. Pakistan has gained in billions of rupees from PaCCS, which might otherwise have gone into the pockets of corrupt officials, traders say, adding that closure of first true initiative at e-governance in the country would be unfortunate and would push Pakistan back into the Stone Age.
"The world is pushing computerisation while we are reverting back to obsolete systems and manual procedures. Customs does not have the capacity to cope with the ever-increasing load of trade. Therefore, there is no point in closing PaCCS," they say.
Reverting to manual procedures would support corrupt elements and the country would suffer as a result of reduced collections. Claim of reforming tax administration should be practised to bail out the country from the shackles of poverty. "How could officials concerned send a state-of-the-art system packing when there is no alternative available?" traders questioned. Majority of stakeholders, including customs agents, are very satisfied with the performance of PaCCS, the first ever end-to-end automated solution for customs in the world.