Customs violations: FBR revises penalties from Oct 1

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), from October 1, will revise penalties for various customs violations relating to delayed filing of goods declarations, removal of imported goods from customs stations and failure to load goods for export within the prescribed period.

Through SRO 136(I)/2026, issued on Thursday, the FBR, in exercise of powers conferred under sub-section (1) of Section 82 of the Customs Act, 1969, has notified penalties specified against violations listed in the notification. The new notification has superseded SRO 1387(I)/2025 dated July 31, 2025.

According to the notification, where a goods declaration (GD) is not filed for home consumption, warehousing or transshipment within 20 days of arrival of goods at a customs station, the prescribed penalty would be Rs25,000 for each of the next five days and Rs50,000 for each subsequent day, subject to a maximum of Rs1 million in each case.

The FBR has further prescribed a penalty where the goods declaration is filed prior to berthing of the vessel, but the goods are not removed from the customs station after payment of leviable duties and taxes within five days of completion of assessment and berthing of the vessel. In such cases, the penalty would be Rs5,000 for each of the next five days and Rs15,000 for each subsequent day, with the total penalty capped at Rs1 million.

Similarly, where the goods declaration is filed after berthing of the vessel, but the goods are not removed from the customs station for home-consumption, warehousing or transshipment within five days of clearance of the goods declaration, the penalty would be Rs10,000 for each of the next five days and Rs20,000 for each subsequent day, subject to a maximum of Rs1 million.

For export consignments, the notification provides that where goods are not loaded on the conveyance for export within 15 days of entry in the port, a penalty of Rs15,000 for each of the next five days and Rs20,000 for each subsequent day would be imposed, subject to a maximum of Rs1 million in each case.

The FBR has clarified that the above penalties would be subject to adjudicating proceedings or voluntary deposit, as the case may be, in accordance with the rules notified for the purpose under the second proviso to sub-section (1) of Section 82 of the Customs Act, 1969.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026