To facilitate incoming passengers, FBR decides to amend customs baggage rules

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to amend customs baggage rules for enhancing the baggage allowance limit for incoming passengers.

Sources told Business Recorder here on Sunday that the amended baggage rules would enhance the monetary limit to facilitate incoming passengers. The existing rules are very old and needed to be amended.

According to the sources, prohibited items cannot be brought into the country under the baggage rules. The revised rules would also clarify certain issues for the incoming passengers.

When contacted, a tax expert informed that the personal baggage rules need to be amended to allow incoming passengers to bring reasonable quantities of goods for gifts and personal use by increasing values in US dollars. However, the SRO 598 (dated May 19) on banned items should not be applicable on the items brought under the personal baggage as per the upward revised limit under the baggage rules.

Responding to a query, sources added that the FBR has already directed the customs officials at the airports that the bonafide passenger baggage carrying banned items would not be stopped/ seized and genuine passengers be facilitated.

In this connection, the FBR had issued instructions to all customs authorities at the airports on the implementation of SRO 598(1)/2022.

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According to the FBR’s instructions, refer to the subject cited above and to state that SRO 598(I)/2022 was issued on May 19, 2022, whereby, a detailed list of items was issued whose import was banned till further notice.

It has come to the notice of the Board that the field formations, especially at airports have started detaining even small quantities of goods, especially food items from the personal baggage of passengers causing hardship to the passengers.

It is to convey to all that board has taken a strong notice of the matter and directed that commercial quantities of the above banned items be seized and bonafide passenger baggage shall not be stopped/ seized and genuine passengers facilitated, as per past practice. Any deviation from the above directions shall entail disciplinary action, the FBR added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022