Transit trade

This is apropos the remarks of Malik Tahir Javed, President, LCCI, carried by Business Recorder on 16th January 2018. Mr Malik has been quoted as saying that "some of the merchandise destined for Afghanistan from Karachi port are off-loaded within the Pakistani territory with the connivance of corrupt officials." This is probably not a correct assumption. Since more than two years, not a single case of en route pilferage of transit cargo destined for Afghanistan has been reported by any seizing agency.
The Federal Board of Revenue and the Directorate General of Transit Trade have taken following important steps to regulate transit trade, which has minimized the chances of en route pilferage from Karachi/Port Qasim to Torkham and Chaman.
-- Transit goods are transported to Afghanistan in those very containers in which they arrive at Karachi/Port Qasim.
-- 20 percent containers are scanned and five percent are examined to check any misdeclaration on arrival.
-- Scanning and examining images are uploaded in the WeBOC system which can be matched at Torkham and Chaman for cross matching before cross border.
-- 100 percent weighment is carried out on arrival of transit cargo and cross matched at Torkham and Chaman.
-- Tracker are installed on containers and vehicles and are monitored on their journey on the designated routes through Pakistan up to borders. In case of any alert on the way, mobile squads check containers en route. Such containers are again examined at borders before they cross into Afghanistan.
-- Afghanistan customs has online access to the incoming transit cargo into Afghanistan. They acknowledge the cargo online. They can inform us in case of non-arrival of any transit cargo in Afghanistan.
-- Insurance security equivalent of duty and taxes leviable in Pakistan is taken from Afghan traders to secure national revenue in case the cargo fails to cross the borders.
-- According to the current data, 99.9 percent of the transit cargo has crossed over to Afghanistan in the same state. There were occasional cases, accidents, sabotage, etc., where we encased the security and had recovered duty and taxes.
(The writer is Director, Directorate Of Transit Trade, Customs House Karachi)