FBR chairman warns against import circumvention of Indian goods

• FBR Chairman warned that the action would be seriously prosecuted.
• He said there is shortfall of Rs200 bn in tax collection during the five months of current fiscal year.

Giving warning of strict action, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Syed Shabbar Zaidi has said the tax authority is noticing import circumvention with respect to goods of Indian origin.

In a tweet, the FBR chief explained that 'origin of import circumvention' means declaration or representation of wrong country of origin. “Serious instances of such circumvention being noticed with respect to goods of Indian origin using various regional ports for that purpose. This action will be prosecuted severely,” stated FBR’s Zaidi in a tweet.

‘Origin of import circumvention’ means declaration or representation of wrong country of origin. Serious instances of such circumvention being noticed with respect to goods of Indian origin using various regional ports for that purpose. This action will be prosecuted severely.

— Syed Shabbar Zaidi (@ShabarZaidi) 12 December 2019

As per the World Trade Organization (WTO), rules of origin are the criteria needed to determine the national source of a product. Their importance is derived from the fact that duties and restrictions in several cases depend upon the source of imports.

FBR Chairman Shabbar Zaidi earlier informed the Senate Standing Committee on Finance that revision in tax collection target of Rs 5.5 trillion for the current fiscal year is under consideration.

Zaidi said that there is shortfall of Rs200 billion in tax collection during the five months of the current fiscal year, the shortfall is due to the import compression of over $4 billion and stated that tax collected on imports constitutes to 50 percent of tax collection.

Meanwhile, the total tax collection during the first five months of the current fiscal year (up to November 30) was recorded at Rs 1,618 billion against the indicative target of Rs 5.5 trillion for the entire fiscal year.