Pakistan Automated Customs Clearance System (PaCCS), which was to close down on July 31, will now continue to operate during the next two months, an official source told Business Recorder. On the expiry of this extension, the government and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) would decide its fate.
Source said that FBR, as always, is backing away from its commitments on the pretext that Web Based One Customs (WEBOC), its self-invented, zero credential system, can replace PaCCS, and is bent upon removing the automated system. The recent scandal of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) containers is a glaring example of the malpractices prevailing outside the PaCCS system.
The PaCCS is used for clearance of US military cargo, while the FBR system is used for clearing cargo of ISAF. It is a testimony to the efficacy of automation that while 150,000 containers had been cleared without a single misadventure by PaCCS, even a mere one-tenth ie 15,000 containers, through the FBR system could not be cleared without incident, causing such a mega scandal. The suspension, and restoration of PaCCS system in June this year, had delayed clearance of 14,000 imported containers, and resulted in importers paying heavy amounts of container rent and other charges.
The deadline for PaCCS, as given by Agility, the Kuwait-based supplier, was July 31, 2010. This deadline ended as a consequence of the request of the Ministry of Finance to Agility for extension of PaCCS on the condition that FBR will commence negotiations with Agility about the roll-out of PaCCS prior to July 31, 2010, but the FBR failed to commence, and requested extension for two more months.
The PaCCS system had been proficient, and had improved cash flow of businesses by expanding access to markets through simpler procedures and expediting rebates of export duties to traders and by reducing corruption. Customs processes at the port of Karachi have been simplified considerably since PaCCS was implemented.
Under the PaCCS, one simple electronic declaration has replaced up to 26 clearance steps, 34 signatures, and 62 verifications. After the system was first introduced, 87 percent of consignments were cleared at the single window within an hour, though that pace has slowed considerably since some manual checks were introduced.
Rebates to traders are made automatically, without their having to file claims, and refunds now take less than 2 days, compared to 90 days before. The single window system was designed to reduce corruption by eliminating contact between traders and customs agents, the source said.
Comments
Comments are closed.