Tracking and monitoring of cargoes: Licensed bonded carriers ordered to install latest devices

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has directed the licensed bonded carriers to install latest equipment and devices for tracking and monitoring of cargoes including transit cargo, petroleum products exported to Afghanistan, transshipment cargo and cargo of Export Processing Zones, Special Economic Zones or Free Zones.

The FBR has issued an S.R.O. 1651(1)/2024 to introduce draft amendments in the Customs Rules, 2001 on Friday.

The amended rules shall apply to tracking and monitoring of different 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.

According to the amendments in customs rules, the Project Director, from time to time, shall ensure that the licensee has deployed latest equipment and devices for tracking and monitoring adopting new technologies, or on the basis of system audit or audit conducted by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

The Project Director shall take action against the licensed tracking companies and may subject to applicable provisions of law confiscate their tracking devices, equipment and mobile enforcement units after the approval by the licensing committee in case of serious violation of these rules and he shall also recommend action against the Bonded Carriers/Transport Operators or their drivers found involved in violation of rules and procedures to their licensing authority.

The Project Director shall be responsible for overall supervision of the system, FBR added.

Under the revised rules, the applicant shall be required to provide technological solutions on the basis of "GSM (dual network), GPRS and hybrid satellite communication" or any other modern technology for monitoring and tracking, on real time basis, of containers and vehicles carrying the cargo.

The system based solution offered by the applicant must be stable, fault-tolerant, secured, and can be accessed only by authorized username and password as authorized by the customs and shall be based on least human interference, FBR added.

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