Cargoes monitoring, tracking: Criteria for cos intending to provide GSM or GPRS services relaxed

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has relaxed the criteria of financial position of companies intend to provide GSM or GPRS or satellite communication services for monitoring and tracking, on a real-time basis, of containers and vehicles carrying cargoes throughout the journey.

The FBR has issued SRO 1317(I)/2020 Thursday to amend the Tracking and Monitoring of Cargo Rules, 2012.

According to the revised rules, the FBR spelled out a detailed procedure for the grant of a licence to the company to be engaged in tracking and monitoring of various types of cargo throughout the journey from the port of entry to the port of exit or from one warehouse to another, on real-time basis.

The FBR has laid down a detailed criterion for the companies who wanted to carry out tracking and monitoring of cargo including transit cargo, transshipment cargo and transportation of petroleum products to Afghanistan. Under the criteria for grant of licence to the applicant, the company shall be in a financial position to undertake the project-minimum turnover of Rs350 million, and financial worth of Rs200 million.

After relaxation of the condition, it shall be in a financial position to undertake the project-minimum turnover of Rs175 million and financial worth of Rs100 million.

The rules said that the licensee shall also provide extension of tracking or monitoring to trans-border, if required; customised land marking; customised analytical reports; scalable solution to handle additional units and single interface for monitoring of containers and authorised carriers. As per rules, no company shall carry out tracking and monitoring of cargo, unless it has obtained a licence under these rules. No licensee under these rules shall establish, maintain or operate any telecommunication system or provide any telecommunication service, which is not authorised under the licence issued to it by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

The rules have also elaborated the functioning of Licensing Committee.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020