APTMA urges FBR to retain Karachi’s CAU amid clearance delays

Pakistan’s textile industry has urged the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to retain its Central Appraising Unit (CAU) in Karachi and review the faceless customs assessment system, citing longer clearance times, valuation disputes and rising costs for importers.

In a letter dated October 27 to FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) said the system had failed to improve assessment quality despite nearly 21 months of operations.

“Importers continue to face delays, arbitrary value enhancements, classification disputes, repeated examinations and laboratory referrals, resulting in demurrage, detention charges, blocked working capital and disruption of export production,” the association said.

APTMA said an FBR review committee had found that average assessment time increased to 40.2 hours from 25.6 hours after the introduction of faceless customs assessment on December 15, 2024. The share of consignments cleared within 48 hours fell to 70% from 84%, while requests for reviews rose to 14% from 6%, according to the association’s account of the committee’s findings.

“The committee reportedly found no improvement in assessment quality and advised against further rollout pending review,” it said.

APTMA said that the relocation of CAU to Islamabad would further aggravate these problems.

“Karachi handles the bulk of seaborne imports, with examination facilities, laboratories, terminals and technical personnel located near the ports.

“Relocation risks loss of experienced appraisers, weaker coordination, additional costs and disruption of clearance operations. Faceless assessment can be maintained through random electronic allocation without physically moving CAU,” said APTMA.

The association asked the FBR to suspend further expansion or major changes to the system until an independent review was conducted in consultation with trade and industry.

“Establish a dedicated backlog clearance cell, prioritise EFS and export-oriented imports, and extend green-channel treatment to Authorised Economic Operators and compliant importers,” it said.

The association also proposed binding timelines of 24 hours for assessment and first review, 48 hours for second review, 24 hours for examination after grounding, and 72 hours for laboratory results, with automatic escalation and provisional release under Section 81 where applicable.

APTMA said the proposed measures would help reduce clearance delays and prevent disruptions to textile production and exports.