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PAKISTAN’S FIRST INDEPTH NEWSPAPER ON CUSTOMS

Daily

Vol 1 Issue No. 186

Karachi, Tue September 22, 2015

KARACHI

AFTAB CHANNA

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he Pakistan Customs has decided to weed out user IDs of the Afghan traders so that updated information of the traders of the neighboring countries could be maintained, it is learnt.

The sources told Customs Today that the Afghans traders were is-

Price Rs. 14.00

sued user IDs by the Ministry of Commerce, Afghanistan and the Directorate General of Transit Trade for transparent shipments of transit cargo from Pakistan’s ports.

“The data of all the WeBOC user IDs of Afghan traders issued by Directorate of Transit Trade and Ministry of Commerce, Government of Afghanistan to be examined with a view to weed out IDs issued by Directorate General of Transit Trade, Karachi in coordination with stakeholders”, sources added.

Adjudication Collector Ali Raza orders to seize 1,100 cell phones

US Army reverse cargo scam: Judge Faiz Rasool seeks medical report

KP govt to support Pak-Iran trade bodies to boost ties: Khattak

Quetta Customs foils attempt to smuggle oil worth Rs 3m

KCCI proposes to make NTN compulsory for opening business accounts

Customs Adjudication Islamabad Collector Ali Raza has ordered confiscation | SEE PAGE 02 |

The Special Court of Customs Taxation and Anti-Smuggling directed authorities | SEE PAGE 03 |

The KPK govet has announced to facilitate the provincial and Iran’s trade | SEE PAGE 04 |

MCC Preventive Quetta has foiled a bid of smuggling engine oil | SEE PAGE 12 |

To resolve the issue ofWithholdingTax on bank transactions, President of the KCCI | SEE PAGE 09 |

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Power shortfall increases to 3,500MW Tuesday, September 22, 2015

National

ISLAMABAD: The electricity shortfall has increased to 3,500MW in the country.

The rural areas across Pakistan are facing 12 hours of power outages and urban areas are witnessing 6 to 8 hours of loadshedding.

Currently, electricity demand is 10,000MW whereas generation is 6500mw, a private television channel reported. Hydel power plants are generating 1000MW, thermal 1500MW while IPPs are producing 400MW electricity. The power shortages have sparked protests and crippled key industries, costing hundreds of thousands of jobs in a country.

Adjudication Collector Ali Raza orders to seize 1,100 cell phones

FY 2014-15 audit of Multan Customs begins MULTAN

IMRAN ALI

ISLAMABAD

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SHAHID MINHAS

www.customsbulletin.com ollectorate of Customs Adjudication Islamabad Collector Muhammad Ali Raza has ordered conRiscation of 1,100 mobile phones and imposed a Rine of Rs 500,000 on the unknown owner.

The collector issued Order-inOriginal (ONO) No. 75 in this regard.

The ONO stated that Customs Intelligence, Rawalpindi has seized a bag at the airport without tags of airlines which had been removed by unknown accused to conceal the ownership.

The intelligence team recovered 1,100 sets of cell phones of various brands including Samsung, LG, Nokia, Motorola and Sony without packing.

The ONO further added that the unknown person, whose identiRication is under investigation, had attempted to smuggle the cell phones which is an offence under Section 2(s) of the Customs Act 1969, therefore a criminal case was lodged against unknown accused.

The court added that despite granting three opportunities of hearing, no one appeared to claim ownership of the seized goods.

The court stated in ONO that from the forgoing facts it is clear that the seized goods are smuggled and non-duty paid which had been brought into the country in violation of provision of section 2(s) and

irectorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Multan Range office is conducting audit of financial year 2014-15.

According to details, the audit team is scrutinizing the seizure cases of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Multan formed during fiscal year 2014-15. The Customs staff is busy in the audit of their cases formed during financial year 2014-15. The audit team will select few cases for audit purpose formed by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation after taking samples from the cases.

The audit team will also evaluate the allocated budget from Federal Board of Revenue for Customs Intelligence and Investigation Multan for fiscal year 2014-15.Customs Intelligence and Investigation presented all the required documents needed for the audit The audit team will take few more days to complete the audit of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Multan Range Office. The purpose of audit is to create transparency in Customs Intelligence and Investigation Multan Range Office.

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16 of the Customs Act 1969. Hence the same are liable to conRiscated

under Section 156(1) (8) (89) of the Customs Act 1969 read with Section

3 (3) of the import and Export (control) Act 1950.

Customs determines import value of used clothing, shoes, toys MULTAN

IMRAN ALI

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irectorate-General of Customs Valuation has determined the import values of secondhand clothes, shoes, leather goods, toys and kitchenware vide Valuation Ruling No. 762/2015.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) directed the Directorate of Customs Valuation to examine the issue of Valuation of secondhand clothes initially in meeting with all stakeholders, including All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) and decided valuation on merits in accordance with law.

There were many complaints about mis-declaration of description under the grab of imports of secondhand clothes and shoes.

Therefore, an exercise to deter-

mine customs values of secondhand clothes, shoes, used leather bags, jackets, belts, used toys and kitchenware was started.

Directorate General of Customs valuation fixed secondhand worn clothes under PCT 6309.0000 of South Korea and Japan is fixed at $0.70 per kilograms; of USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Europe at $0.40 per kilogram; of Far East and China at 0.5 per kilogram; of Middle East and Gulf States at $0.40 per kilograms while

these goods of all other origins would be assessed to duty and taxes at $0.40 per kilograms.

Customs determine values of secondhand leather bags, jackets and belts under PCT 42.02 of South Korea and Japan is fixed at $0.90 per kilogram,s; of USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Europe at $0.90 per kilograms; of Far East and China at 0.9 kg; of Middle East and Gulf States at $0.60 per kg while these goods of all other origins under PCT 42.03 would be as-

sessed to duty and taxes at $0.50 per kilograms.

Customs fixes of second hand shoes under PCT 63.09 of South Korea and Japan is fixed at $1.0 per kilograms; of USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Europe at $0.80 per kilograms; of Far East and China at 0.8 per kilograms; of Middle East and Gulf States at $0.80 per kilograms while these goods of all other origins would be assessed to duty and taxes at $0.70 per kilograms.

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Sialkot ASO impounds Mitsubishi Pajero worth Rs 0.6m SIALKOT: The Customs Anti-Smuggling Organization (ASO) Sialkot has impounded a non-duty paid Mitsubishi Pajero worth Rs 600,000 during an action.

As per details, the ASO team, following the directions of Model Customs Collectorate Sialkot Collector Ahmad Reza Khan, intercepted a Mitsubishi Pajero and asked the driver to produce the documents showing the legal import of the vehicle but the driver remained failed to do so.Therefore, the officials impounded the vehicle under the prevailing customs laws and served notice on the driver, asking him to appear before the competent authority to prove its legal import.

FTO launches drive against malpractices ISLAMABAD

SHAHID MINHAS

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ollowing expeditious efforts by the Federal Tax Ombudsman, the secretariat exterminated malpractices within office successfully. According to sources, FTO Abdur Rauf Chaudhry took special measures to eliminate malpractices residing with headquarter in Islamabad as well as regional offices in other parts of the country. FTO secretariat officials told the privy that reducing malpractices significantly served complainants reaching to FTO. They credited that unlike other appellate and institutions made for public grievances, FTO was heading for complainants redresses fast.

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Lahore Customs foils bid to smuggle contraband items worth Rs 2m LAHORE

M HAYAT

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ustoms Investigation and Intelligence Lahore has seized iron, curtain cloth and smuggled drinks worth Rs 2 million from a truck on Wahdat Road, sources informed here on Saturday.

Official sources told Customs Today that the contraband goods and articles were being smuggled to the local market of Lahore. The official sources said that illegally imported iron, cloth, drinks and other items of Rs 2 millions were the ownership of a Peshawar resident. The raid was conducted on the instructions of Additional Director Rizwan Slabat under the supervision of Superintendent Nasir Minhas and his inspectors’ team including Muhammad Hussan and Nadeem Ahasn. The sources said that a case has been registered while further investigations are underway.

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Tuesday September 22, 2015

National

US Army cargo scam: Judge Faiz Rasool seeks medical report of ailing suspect KARACHI

MUHAMMAD YOUSAF www.customsbulletin.com

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he Special Court of Customs Taxation and AntiSmuggling directed authorities of Karachi Central jail to conduct the medical tests of an ailing suspect and submit a report in the court.

The judge gave this direction while hearing the cases pertaining to pilferage of the US Army reverse cargo. In response to the court notice, Karachi central prison’s assistant superintendent appeared before the judge, stating that ailing suspect Muhammad Umar was referred to a hospital for tests and sought time to submit the medical report.

Earlier, the court summoned the superintendent of Karachi Central jail to explain why medical tests of Muhammad Umar, who was stated to be suffering from hepatitis and other chronic diseases, were not conducted despite the court orders.

According to the details, Directorate General of Transit Trade lodged two FIRs pertaining to pilferage of US Army reverse cargo in 22 containers during their transit from Torkham to Karachi port. The cargo was declared to contain power generators with transformer and equipment for transit to Karachi port for export to Dubai. When the containers were examined physically at Karachi port they were

found empty.

During course of examination, shipper and custom seals were found intact. However, the cargo declared in the invoice and packing list was not found in the containers.

Meanwhile, The Collectorate of Customs Adjudication-II Karachi has issued an Order-in-Original (ONO) against M/s Imdad Cloth House Lahore for evading duty/taxes to the tune of Rs 498,498 by taking undue benefits under SRO 1125(I)/2011 dated 31.12.2011.

According to details, the Directorate of Post Clearance Audit

Transit Trade DG lodges two FIRs pertaining to pilferage of US Army reverse cargo in 22 containers during their transit from Torkham to Karachi port.

Faisalabad ASO impounds Toyoata Hiace

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he Customs Anti-Smuggling Organization (ASO) Faisalabad has impounded a non-duty paid Toyota Hiace Van worth Rs 1.2 million.

The ASO Faisalabad, following the directions of Collector Model Customs Collectorate Faisalabad Dr Zulfiqar Ali Chaudhry, conducted raids against non-duty paid vehicles

in the region.

The ASO team intercepted a vehicle near Chiniot bypass, Faisalabad bearing Registration No. LWC-3738 and asked the driver namely Qasir Abbas to produce the documents showing the legal import and lawful possession of the said vehicle. But he could not produce any documents relating to its legal import or lawful possession.

Therefore, the ASO team im-

pounded the vehicle under import and export Control Act, 1950 Punishable under Section 156 (1) 89 of Customs Act, 1990.

The ASO team comprising Suprientendent Zahid Bukhari, Inspector Muhammad Munir Ahmad, Abdul Nasir, Zulifqar Ali, Sepoys Atta Muhammad, Muhammad Ashrif, Muhammad Hayat and others participated in the raid.

(PCA), Customs Karachi, while scrutinizing data of importers, found that the importer had illegally availed the benefits of concessionary rates under aforesaid SRO. In the ONO, the Deputy Collector Customs Adjudication-II Muhammad Aftab stated that the importer M/s Imdad Cloth House intentionally and wilfully caused loss to the government exchequer by availing benefits of SRO 1125(I)/2011 dated 31.12.2011 which was evidently not admissible to them at the time of imports.

FST chairman in Lahore to hear vital cases ederal Service Tribunal (FST) Chairman Ahmad Farooq Sheikh on Friday left for Lahore to chair hearing of cases. The FST officials said that the chairman would return to Islamabad and resume hearing in the capital city after Eidul Azha. Before Eidul Azha vacation, he had to chair cases’hearing in Lahore, the FST officials said, adding that the chairman would head tribunal’s benches to hear some vital cases in Lahore.

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WB top official lauds govt’s policies to revive economy Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Business

ISLAMABAD: The Cabinet Committee on Privatization in its meeting chaired by Finance Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar considered various options presented by the Privatization Division for divestment of Faisalabad Electric Supply Corporation (FESCO) and TPS Muzaffargarh of Northern Power Generation Company (Ltd). The Chairman Privatization Commission apprised Minister Dar about the progress achieved in this regard and the timeline for fulfilling the remainder of procedures. The Finance Minister observed that the Financial Advisors should provide the Government with multiple options with a view to maximizing the gains from these transactions.

KSE 100-index bounces 65pts, up 0.20% on global recovery KARACHI

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he Karachi Stock Exchange benchmark 100-index gained 65.29 points or 0.20 percent to reach 32826.24 points and volume of 67,841,120 shares on Monday.

Till midday, the KSE remained in negative zone as 100-index shed 74.34 points to reach 32686.61

points level.

Earlier, the stocks again started week with negative note as the Karachi Stock Exchange benchmark KSE100 index lost 225.30 points to drop to 32535.65 points level.

Last week, political unrest and concerns over NAB investigations against brokers and industrialists kept sentiments jittery at the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) as average trading volumes plummeted to 17weeks low of 135 million shares per day.

Banking deposits up by 8% to reach Rs 9,020 billion CUSTOMS BULLETIN REPORT www.customsbulletin.com

he banking sector deposits have increased eight per cent to Rs9,020 billion in the first eight months of current year 2015, however, the deposits declined by 1 per cent during the first two months of fiscal year 2015-16. According to figures issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), advances also increased two per cent in the eight months of 20Y15 to reach Rs4,566 billion.

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LAHORE

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PESHAWAR

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he Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has announced to facilitate the provincial and Iran’s trade and commerce bodies to boost the bilateral economic ties. This was stated by KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, while talking to the acting Consul General of Iran in Peshawar, Homayoun Amirkhalili,

he coal prices have further decreased by 12 per cent to $52 per tonne in August as compared to $59 per tonne in June 2015. Low demand from China and US along with rising capacities in other countries has led to the 19 per cent decline in the international market during the last two years.

Going forward, coal prices are likely to remain weak in short term as EIA expects US demand to remain depressed. However, potential demand from South Asian countries might take prices up in longer term. Cement producers have remained the major beneficiaries of continued fall in coal prices in FY14 and FY15. Recent drop in prices is likely to bring more joys to the cement makers as it would expand margins by 2pps in FY16, experts said. Meanwhile, The authorities, on the direction of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, have started taking strict legal action against sugar mills that are not making payments to farmers. Nine sugar mills have been taken into custody by DCOs on non-payment to the sugarcane growers so that after auctioning stock or mill, dues could be paid to the farmers, according to a handout.

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KP govt to support Pak-Iran trade bodies to boost ties: Khattak

LAHORE

Coal price decrease by 12% to $52/tonne

who called on him at CM Secretariat.

Khattak said that the close trade ties between Iran and government of Pakistan in general and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular are in the larger interest of both countries. He said that exchange of chambers of commerce and industries and other trade bodies’ delegations between Iran and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will also be encouraged for this purpose.

Iranian initiatives in this regard will also help improve broader regional economic cooperation and stability, Khattak said. The chief minister welcomed lifting of international eco-

nomic sanctions against Iran in the backdrop of recently signed nuclear treaty with the European countries.

He said that Iran has entered into new era of economic progress and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will also prefer to revive its traditional economic, trade and cultural relations with neighbouring Iran. Apprising the Iranian Consul General of investment opportunities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khattak said that the province carries great potential both for local and foreign investors particularly in energy (hydro power, oil and gas) production.

DairyLand announces to invest Rs 1b to expand business in Pakistan KARACHI

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airyLand, one of the 14 large scale corporate dairy farms in Pakistan, has announced to invest Rs1 billion to expand its diary business in the country. Company’s Director Nadeem

Monnoo, addressing on the occasion, said that DiaryLand has acquired 40 acres of the closed Ahmed Textile Mills [near Gharo] to double the number of milking cows to 5,000 in the next two to three years…will invest another Rs1 billion in milk processing by JanuaryFebruary. The Rirm, established in 2008 in the vicinity of closed Kotri Textile Mills in Gharo, produces, processes and supplies 18,000 to 40,000 litres of milk in the city on

daily basis. The yield peaks in winter season and drops in summer. “An average yield of the imported Holliston, Jersey and their cross-breed is 25 litres per day,” he said.

He said all their 2,500 cows are imported from Australia. The imported cows are adaptable to the local environment. “Our Sahiwal breed is good for quality and high yield milk. However, we did not buy them because of the issue of their availability,” he said.

Monnoo said that his Rirm would not import more cows to double the number of milking cows, but the expansion is being done through local reproduction process of the imported cows. He said the Rirm is facing issues in milk supply across the city, as the milk needs to remain stored at four Celsius till it is consumed. “Its shelf-life is not more than three days due to non-mixture of preservative chemicals. We sustained huge losses in June when the

city experienced heat wave,” he said.

Haroon Lodhi, chief executive ofRicer at Corporate Dairy Farmers Association said large scale dairy farms invested Rs20.7 billion from 2007 to 2012. However, no new large scale farm is in the pipeline because of some regulatory, taxation and health issues. There are over 60 million cows and buffaloes in the country and some 8.5 million families are involved in milking business.

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irector General Transit Trade Muhammad Javed Ghani is seeking appointment of data analysts and provision of operational vehicles for the Directorates of Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar.

The sources told Customs Today that Ghani was told by the Directorates of Quetta, Peshawar and Karachi that they were facing shortage of data analysts and operational vehicles to improve performance of the transit trade.

In this regard, a high level meeting was held under the chairmanship of DG Transit Trade Muhammad Javed Ghani. While Director Transit Trade Peshawar Dr Naeem Khan, Director Transit Trade Quetta Pervez Esbahani, Director Transit Trade Karachi Wajid Ali, Deputy Director Transit Trade Karachi Dr M Mumtaz Ali Raza Ch, Deputy Director

Transit Trade Quetta Amanullah Tareen and Deputy Director Transit Trade Karachi Shoaib Raza attended the meeting.

Ghani assured the directors that he would take up the issue with the Federal Board of Revenue and it is hoped that the issue would soon be resolved.

Meanwhile, The Pakistan Customs decided to carryout physical examinations of the consignments issued with the serious alerts by M/s TPL Trakker against the Transit Trade cargo, it is learnt. The decision to this effect made in a meeting held under the chairmanship of Director-General Transit Trade Muhammad Javed Ghani.

The meeting was also attended

by Director Transit Trade Peshawar Dr Naeem Khan, Director Transit Trade Quetta Pervez Esbahani, Director Transit Trade Karachi Wajid Ali, Deputy Director Transit Trade Karachi Dr M Mumtaz Ali Raza Ch, Deputy Director Transit Trade Quetta

Amanullah Tareen and Deputy Director Transit Trade Karachi Shoaib Raza. The sources told Customs Today that now the physical examination of consignments at Exit Directorates i.e.

Quetta and Peshawar would be carried out with an aim to check out and verify description and quantity mentioned in the Goods Declaration. These steps are said to taken under the directives of Chairman Federal Board of Revenue Tariq Bajwa against all kinds of smuggling and mis-declaration of goods by the traders, sources added. “Now, all such consignments in which serious alerts e.g. door alerts are issued by M/s TPL Trakker shall be physically examined before cross border to verify the description/quantity in the GDs�, the sources disclosed. Moreover, the Directorates of Transit Trade Peshawar and Quetta directors have been instructed to depute senior ofRicials at the exit directorates to perform the job, they concluded.

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Tuesday, September 22, 2015

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Founder & Chairman Zulfiqar Ali Editor Rahil Yasin editor@customsbulletin.com.pk For advertising & subscription marketing@customsbulletin.com.pk www.customsbulletin.com Phones: 042-35781643-4, Fax: 042-35781645 Address: 627, Siddiq Trade Centre, Gulberg, Lahore

EDITORIAL

Negative perception of economy

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he economy of Pakistan is a glaring example of negative perception where investors are least interested in risking their money without going into the details that the media reports are not always true. On another note, there are several multi-national companies settled in Pakistan for decades and have done good business even during the peak days of terrorism. The government is trying its best to improve security situation, but isolated attacks by terrorists backfire every effort, sending wrong signals to the world that Pakistan is a dangerous place for doing business. Though the country has been classified as a frontier market, but there are convincing factors which can lead to attract foreign investment in the coming years if the government concentrates on three core areas; security, energy and tax relief.

According to various economic indexes, Pakistan is an emerging market or it is about to gain this status as the government has introduced various open arms policies for the foreign investors. What only needs to do is to convince the global investors about incentives the government has offered with improved infrastructure and skilled labour which is cheaper than any other country in the region. The country has bright growth prospects and is on the road of fiscal consolidation and stability due to introduction of structural reforms and financial discipline by the current government during last two and half years.

Pakistan has recently signed an agreement with China to set up a free industrial zone in Gwadar which will usher in an era of development and prosperity in the country. Tax-free industrial zones should also be established in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, especially in the cotton belt.

Pakistan has agrarian economy and setting up industrial units in rural areas is the need of the hour to convert agriculture yields into value added products. As a result of tragic incident in Peshawar yesterday, where terrorists hit an airbase, shows that terrorists still have the power to strike back.

Economy is the ultimate casualty in an unsafe environment as such incidents erode the investors’ confidence. However, the Karachi stock exchange has been one of the world’s top 10 performers for the last three years and the volume of the economy has reached over $ 250 billion. However, unless the government improves business climate and security situation, investors will continue to remain shy of investing in Pakistan. The country has the history of economic resilience and it has always defied sceptics despite violence and political uncertainty.

Fitch’s rating F

LAHORE

DR AFTAB AFZAL

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itch Ratings has assigned a B credit rating to Pakistan with a ‘stable outlook’, but ‘weak’ economic fundamentals even if compared with the similar rated peers. According to a report issued by the rating agency, its Rirst ever rating of Pakistan, the B ratings balance the country’s underdevelopment, political instability, weak public Rinances and history of macroeconomic volatility against the stabilization and progress on reforms achieved under the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.

On another note, big investors all over the world are looking to-

ward emerging or frontier economies to launch industrial projects after industrial growth has slowed down in China and some European economies. The popular investment destinations in Asia are Vietnam and the Philippines and in Europe, Poland, Romania, Hungary and Czech Republic have emerged as attractive destinations for potential investors. The world rating agencies are the volunteers which highlight economic conditions of the countries. About Pakistan, Fitch’s rating shows highly speculative debt which is two levels below the investment grade.

Earlier this year, Moody’s, another US rating agency, had lowered Pakistan’s credit risk warning to ‘high’ from ‘very high’, but Fitch Ratings show that the risks have not still

over. Earlier, the country was facing balance of payment problem, but the IMF deal with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government had averted the crisis. Despite all odds and pressure, the Pakistani rupee has emerged as the third-best performer this quarter among 12 Asian currencies tracked by Bloomberg. Fitch warns that distraction from Rinancial discipline with potential to increase inRlation or a widen current account deRicit or a political instability could cause a downgrade, but political stability, improved security, comfortable level of foreign exchange reserves and sustained Riscal consolidation could lead to an upgrade in the rating. The agency warns of the country’s costly conRlict with India that

should not turn into a full-Rledged war. However, the positive side of the policy is that Pakistan is trying to normalize its relations with Afghanistan and India whereas it has deep relations with China. If $46 billion investment offered by China is realized, the government will be in the best position to revive economy, which is enduring chronic power failures and terrorism that has killed more than 50,000 people since Pakistan joined the war on terrorism in 2001. The agency hopes that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor can strengthen the country’s economic fundamentals, but it remains to be seen how the government maintains the rate of progress and how it bears the cost of any debt Rinancing.

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Russian oil exports down by 25% in August MOSCOW: According to preliminary data, in August Russia exported about 30 KMT of sunflower oil, thus, the entire season’s exports amounting to 1240 KMT – 25% less than in 2013/14 market year.

Reduction in export shipments is due to both the decrease of 15% in sunflower yield, and the rise in domestic consumption of vegetable oils.

The main directions of oil export from Russia remain to be Turkey and Egypt, their combined market share in Russian market is 75%.

Tough contest as LCCI election today he local business community are using their right of vote in Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (LCCI) annual elections being conducted today.

A total of 2,631 registered voters of corporate sector will elect candidates against 8 corporate class seats while 7,800 registered voters of associate class will cast votes to candidates against 8 seats. The last 13 years history of chamber reflected that all candidates of Founder – PIAF Alliance had been sweeping all seats with majority and held key posts of President, Senior Vice President and Vice President.

The LCCI, since its inception in 1923 and after creation of separate motherland, had produced prominent national political figures namely Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, former Federal Minister Tariq Hamid and Mian Misbah Ur Rehman former Chairman SNGPL and Gymkhana Club. The electioneering is in full momentum with holding of series of door to door, corner meetings, followed by lobbying and canvassing has come to end.

Chairman United Business Group, the largest alliance of chambers in the country, Iftikhar Ali Malik said dedicated candidates with integrity, especially educated youth, have been fielded in the chamber election with consensus in a democratic manner. President Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Muhammad Adrees said that UBG panel won chamber elections on all seats unopposed in Islamabad, Rawalpidi, Gujrat, Gunjranwala, Siaklot, Sargodha, Chakwal, Okara, Sahiwal, Vehari, Multan, DG Khan, Sheikhupura, Faisalabad, Quetta, Haripur, Chaman and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The election results in other chambers are in process of finalisation.

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Tuesday September 22, 2015

Chambers

Turkish firms want to invest in Pakistan: Ferhat Kavakli ISLAMABAD

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everal Turkish companies are taking interest to visit Pakistan to explore opportunities of business collaboration, joint ventures and investment.

This was revealed by Ferhat Kavakli, the newly-appointed Commercial Counsellor of Turkey to Pakistan during his visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

He said Turkey was already cooperating with Pakistan in waste management, transportation and education sectors while there were good prospects for mutual collaboration, especially in food and other sectors between the two countries.

He said after the elections in Turkey in November this year, many Turkish companies were interested to enhance their presence in Pakistan. He assured that Commercial Council of Turkish Embassy in Pakistan would play its role in promoting connectivity between the private

sectors of Pakistan and Turkey to explore new avenues of bilateral cooperation. In his welcome address, Muzzail Hussain Sabri, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that Pakistan and Turkey enjoyed good historic relations, however, bilateral trade of less than $1 billion was far less than the real potential of both countries.

He said Turkey has imposed high tariffs on Pakistani fabrics and car-

pets along with strict safeguard measures due to which Pakistani exporters were facing problems in promoting exports to Turkey. He said Turkey should revise high duties on Pakistani products that will help in promoting bilateral trade.

He said during the visit of Prime Minister of Turkey Mr. Ahmet Davutoglu to Pakistan in February this year, both sides had agreed to sign a free trade agree-

‘Solar power can be viable energy resource for 3.2m SMEs in Pakistan’ LAHORE

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fter failure in fulfilment of energy needs through other resources, the solar power can be an effective and commercially viable alternative resource for sustainability of 3.2 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan.

This was stated by Reon Energy Limited CEO Inamur Rehman, while talking to the state-owned news agency, APP. He said that numerous sector-specific studies over the period have proven that widespread commer-

cially available technologies such as solar power can ease the energy crisis.

With solar and wind power becoming increasingly competitive, various local banks have initiated credit facilities for green energy investments, he said, asserting that switching from fossil fuel to renewable sources could also prove to be both economically and technically beneficial for the SME sector.

Also, the recent feed-in-tariff policies have created opportunity for SMEs to emerge as a third party renewable energy provider through energy sales to the grid.

Inamur Rehman said that energy from diesel is very expensive

and rendered the SMEs uncompetitive for which this sector would have to explore other sustainable alternatives. “With the recent technology improvements, solar and wind energy can provide a reasonable solution to meet the sector’s electricity needs.

Solar energy is easily installed and provides a commercially viable alternative. “It is necessary that we all work together to facilitate and fund renewable energy investments,” he observed.Solar energy is easily installed and provides a commercially viable alternative. “It is necessary that we all work together to facilitate and fund renewable energy investments,” he observed.

ment to take bilateral trade up to $10 billion in coming years, which were encouraging signs.

However, he stressed that both governments should take practical steps to materialize these targets.

He said frequent exchange of trade delegations and organizing single country exhibitions were the way forward to tap all untapped areas of mutual cooperation between Pakistan and Turkey.

FPCCI, Russian chamber join hands to boost economic ties he Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and Leningrad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) have joined hands to further boost economic relationship between Russia and Pakistan. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was also signed to identify areas of cooperation on trade and investment, said a statement.

Farooq Afzal, Chairman Pakistan Russia Business Council, and Liliia Arakelova, Head Foreign Economic Relations, signed the MOU. After the signing ceremony, the business meetings of Pakistani exporters with their counterparts were arranged by the Leningrad Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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Russian Customs officers recover 500kg cocaine inside container Tuesday September 22, 2015

World

MOSCOW: Russian customs officers found almost 500 kilograms of cocaine, hidden inside a container with meat, a customs office in Russia’s Kaliningrad reported.

The container with cocaine was bound from Brazil.

“During a customs control of frozen minced meat arrived from Brazil… [We] discovered cocaine packed in plastic pellets and folded in plastic bags. The total weight of the white powder was 490 kilograms,” — a press release of the Kaliningrad customs office said.

Three weeks ago, security officials found another package with 172-kilograms of cocaine in the same customs office.

Customs to auction smuggled China, Russia to co-develop rice worth $1.9m, says BOC

wide-body jetliner

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t least 22 container vans of illegally imported rice is set to be auctioned off on September 30, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said on Saturday. According to Manila International Container

Singapore Customs fines two importers for GST evasion wo men have been fined for fradulently evading Goods and Service Taxes (GST) on items they had imported. Both had under-declared the value of their goods in fake invoices submitted to Singapore Customs.

PassionKites owner Tan Ting Sin, 29, was fined $96,667.45 last Thursday. He had imported electric scooters and accessories from China on 48 occasions between last August and this April, and avoided paying more than $81,000 in GST by faking invoices. Tan pleaded guilty to 15 charges, with another 33 charges taken into consideration during sentencing. In a similar case, Twelvebox Enterprise director Ku Jin Hao, 28, was fined $156,000 earlier this month for under-declaring the value of pool tables, cameras, and camera accessories he had imported from Hong Kong, Japan, and China.

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Port (MIC)’s Auction and Cargo Disposal Division Chief Gerardo Macatangay, a bulk of the glutinous and white rice was consigned to International Grains International Trading, Inc. with 8,040 sacks and Evergreen Cereal with 3,800 sacks.

In 2014, Intercontinental Grains – together with Starcraft International Trading and Silent Royalty Marketing – was charged by BOC for importing rice without a per-

mit from the National Food Authority (NFA).

The BOC is expected to generate P9.52 million ($1.9 million) from the rice auction. Macatangay added that the MICP is also selling other smuggled items contained in 9 lots. These items include rolls of craft paper, ladies’ apparel, various food stuff, and 1,600 bags of dextrose monohydrate, among others.

Customs arrests man on charges of smuggling pigeons, monkeys

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smuggler tried to sneak booze into Saudi Arabia with specially constructed trousers – but he’s not the only one to try something daft.

This is what you call a lotta bottle a smuggler trying to sneak booze into teetotal Saudi Arabia using concealed pockets in his trousers.

The bottles were also covered with a traditional white robe, but customs ofRicials noticed how oddly

he was walking and soon discovered his boozy swag. Now he faces jail and a possible public Rlogging. But he’s far from the Rirst to apply a little imagination – or downright idiocy – to a smuggling bid. StufRing a live monkey up your blouse and claiming to be pregnant sounds like a comedy script. But that’s exactly what American Gypsy Lawson, 29, did to sneak a drugged rhesus monkey into the US in 2008.

ussia and China are expected to sign an intergovernmental agreement on the joint development of a wide-body jetliner before the end of the year, according to the president of Russia’s United Aircraft Corp. The agreement would specify each country’s responsibilities and proRits from the project, Yury Slyusar said.

“So far, the project has proceeded well, and we plan to determine the technical requirements, speciRications and outsourcing methods in March.” Slyusar dismissed speculation that the new jetliner will be a rival to China’s domestically developed C919, whose maiden Rlight is scheduled for next year.

“The new jetliner is totally different from the C919 in terms of passenger volume and Rlight range. The two aircraft are aimed at different markets, so they will not compete with each other,” he said, adding that the new plane will be able to carry 210 to 350 passengers, depending on the seating arrangements.

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French Customs seizes stolen jewellery

rench customs ofRicers in the department of Jura detained a car with Bulgarian registration, which was transporting jewellery worth more than EUR 100,000.

The jewellery was stolen a couple of hours earlier, on the night of Monday to Tuesday.

At around 5 a.m. on Tuesday,

Canada: Big trade deal, little optimism

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he week started out with what should be a good news story – that the federal government ended 2014 with a small surplus of $1.9 billion. That’s only a small drop in the face of Ottawa’s $280.4-billion budget, but our federal leaders

raced to interpret it for us.

While the Conservative’s Stephen Harper called it good news and forecast another surplus for 2015, the NDP’s Tom Mulcair greeted it as a chance to show how some of his spending promises could be achieved without running a deRicit.

Surplus during recession seems like bad economic planning: Don Pittis. Meanwhile, Liberal Leader

Slyusar was speaking on the sidelines of Aviation Expo China 2015, which ended in Beijing on Saturday.

United Aircraft Corp took part and displayed several types of civilian aircraft, including the Sukhoi Superjet 100.

Russia began Rloating a proposal for a jointly developed widebody jetliner in 2012, but the Chinese government and Commercial Aircraft Corp of China did not appear interested in the idea at the time, industry analysts said. The turning point came in May last year when COMAC said it had signed a cooperation memorandum with United Aircraft Corp on the joint development of a long-range, widebody jetliner, and conRirmed that preliminary research had started. In February, Slyusar told Russia’s Sputnik News Agency that the two countries would invest $13 billion in developing the plane.

They had agreed that China would produce the fuselage main frame, while Russia would be responsible for the wings and tail parts. Speaking at a news brieRing in March, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the two countries would speed up development of the aircraft.

Justin Trudeau, who is pledging more years of deRicits, said there was a clear cost to that surplus.

“It was a political goal that actually has helped us slide into the recession that Canada is the only G7 country in right now,” he said.

Be happy about manufacturing sales Talk of recession lingers after two straight quarters in which the economy shrank. And the OECD

two Romanian nationals stole all the jewellery available at the Bullion jewellery shop in the city of Lons.

The vehicle was selected for a check by a police patrol at around 7 a.m. The thefts were driving a BMW car with Bulgarian registration. The total price of the stolen jewellery is EUR 103,000.

added Rire to the argument that Canada is not doing well, by downgrading its forecast of Canadian growth in 2015 to 1.1 per cent. But in the third quarter of the year, preliminary Rigures show a big rise in manufacturing sales, which could mean Canada is in recovery. Manufacturing sales rose 1.7 per cent to $52.2 billion in July, led by a 5.6 per cent gain in the auto sector.

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Hong Kong port’s troubles deepened over 2015 HONG KONG: The port of Hong Kong’s troubles have deepened over 2015. The latest numbers from the Government of Hong Kong’s Marine Department for the month of August show a year-on-year fall of 9.8% in the number of TEUs passing through the whole port.

Meanwhile,Hong Kong-listed Sinotrans Shipping predicted that its profit would fall significantly year on year (y/y) for the first half of 2015 and the company may drop into considerable losses during the period. Such substantial decrease in profit or considerable loss is mainly the result of the company’s continual slowdown of growth in international trade and dry bulk seaborne volume as a result of the weakening of economic growth in China and other emerging markets in 2015, a stock filing of Sinotrans Shipping said on 9 July.

Ports & Shipping

Shipping activity back to normal levels at Tulsa Port of Catoosa

Qatar’s Hamad Port to increase handling capacity

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DOHA

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t is good to see our shipping activity back to normal levels,” said David Page, Chairman of the City of TulsaRogers County Port Authority in a press release. For the month of August, 155,990 tons of cargo moved through the Port of Catoosa, which is significantly more than the last three months, according to 2015 Port Tonnage Data. During the month of May, only 46,806 tons of cargo moved through the Port, making it the month with the least amount of cargo for the current year by a significant margin.

Recovery of shipping activity was slow for June and July. June saw 58,200 tons of cargo moved through the Port, and July had 68,514 tons of cargo.

With only four months of the year left, the Port has only moved a total of 993,300 tons of cargo. At this time last year, the port had already moved 1,661,766 tons of cargo.

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Rotterdam inks deal to build new Indonesian port he Port of Rotterdam Authority has signed a partnership agreement with the Indonesian Port Corporation Pelindo I for the development of a new deep sea port at Kuala Tanjung. Kuala Tanjung is in the North Sumatra city of Medan and is a key project in Indonesia’s national maritime strategy that involves the building of 35 ports across the vast archipelago in the next five years. The Rotterdam authority will now carry out a feasibility study for the new port together with Pelindo I. A project organisation will be created for this purpose that will include a number of the port authority’s employees locally and based in Rotterdam.

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which includes an expansion of the main terminal building and concourse D and E. Also revealed for the Rirst time were plans for two additional container terminals at Hamad Port that would increase the QR27bn ($7.3bn) project’s handling capacity to 6 million TEUs. Qatar Rail’s Chief of Service Delivery Andrew Tailor updated the Forum on Qatar’s $20bn-plus integrated transport plan. A world record 21 tunnel boring machines

are being used on the Doha Metro project, which so far has completed almost 50 kilometres of tunnels. A total of 26,000 workers are working on the project, equating to more than 78 million man hours worked as of end of August. Work on the Lusail tram scheme is even more advanced, with four of the Rive at grade stations completed, while the tender for the Rirst phase design and build of the long-distance freight and rail network will be issued to contractors early next year.

Bangladesh must depreciate currency to boost exports

he central bank should go for a steady depreciation of the taka to help exporters maintain their competitiveness as Bangladesh’s competitors have devalued their currencies to boost export earnings, a top economist said.

Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, said the real effective exchange rate in Bangladesh has

Asia Tankers-VLCC rates to continue to increase on ample cargo reight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs), which reached a seven-week high this week, are set to climb higher on buoyant cargo volumes and tighter tonnage, brokers said. But the views are mixed on whether rates will top $100,000 per day, the level that some brokers and owners think VLCC rates will hit over the fourth quarter on higher oil demand as Asian refineries ramp up production ahead of the northern winter after being shut for maintenance.

“I think rates will continue to firm but I don’t think they will race away,” said one Singapore-based VLCC broker said on Friday. “Rates (from the Middle East to Japan) are up to $70,000 per day.

They may go through $80,000 a day – at that stage owners don’t have to be that greedy,” the broker added.

A daily rate of $100,000 would be the highest since mid-2010.

“Owners are feeling they are back in the driving seat and rates are firming for all major routes with Middle East and West Africa remaining the most active,” Norwegian ship broker Fearnley said in a note on Wednesday.

“Possibly (it is) the start of the expected upturn for the winter months,” the Fearnley note added.

VLCC rates from the Middle East to Japan have gained 34 points on the Worldscale since Aug. 26, when they hit a six-and-a-half year low. That is equivalent to an increase in average earnings of almost $46,000 per day.

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CUSTOMS BULLETIN REPORT amad Port would increase its handling capacity to 6mTEUS by 2020. The Rirst phase of the mega project, which is involved installing more pre-cast blocks, is due to open at the end of 2016. This was revealed at the justconcluded MEED’s 4th annual Qatar Transport Forum.

At the Forum, experts said Qatar is moving ahead with more than $40bn worth of planned transport projects. These include expansion of Hamad Port, the Doha Metro and long-distance passenger and freight network, and the expressway programme. One of the highlights of the Qatar Transport Forum was the public unveiling of plans for the estimated $8bn expansion of Hamad International Airport (HIA). NDIA Steering Committee Project Director Peter Daley, outlined the procurement timeline along with descriptions of the project scope,

Tuesday September 22, 2015

appreciated almost 25 percent in 2014-15 which is seriously undermining export competitiveness compared with competitor countries. The former economist of the International Monetary Fund advocated for an engineered steady depreciation of the taka.

Mansur spoke at a discussion on “policy action for boosting investment, trade and exports in

Bangladesh” at Lakeshore Hotel in Dhaka on Wednesday.

The Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry organised the programme, MCCI said in a statement yesterday. Mansur talked about how the climbing foreign exchange reserves may be used to stimulate growth. He also identiRied Rinancial accounts as the major reason for the jump in reserves.

NSC frowns at allegations of monopolistic tendencies in ports

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NAGERIA

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he Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has frowned at allegations of monopolistic tendencies in the Eastern ports of the country, calling for a competitive spirit among all service providers, including shipping companies and terminal operators to drive the nation’s

economy. Executive Secretary of the Council, Mr. Hassan Bello, who spoke in Onne and Port Harcourt ports, Rivers State, during a recent visit to assess the situation in the area, stressed that competitiveness in every market environment was a global trend which every service provider in the ports should embrace. Bello, who disclosed that his Council had been inundated with complaints of monopoly against

some service providers, condemned the practice, adding that the NSC as ports economic regulator was out to encourage competition in the operating environment.

He argued that fair competition compels service providers to offer efRicient services as well as places consumers of shipping services with the option of choice in the market or any industry. Bello advised all service providers to discontinue any

measure that would stiRle competition in the country.

Meanwhile, Peru’s director general responsible for concessions at the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Raúl García, wants to see eight major ports operational in Peru over the next 10 years. He argues that, not only will this drive down logistics costs and therefore boost overseas trade, but also lessen the reliance on the country’s three main ports.

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NAB recovers Rs 18.8 billion from defaulters: Chaudhry Qamar Zaman LAHORE: Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chaudhry Qamar Zaman has said that NAB has recovered Rs 18.8 billion from defaulters. He warned that action will be taken against defaulters without political pressure from any party.

Addressing a gathering in local hotel, Chaudhry Qamar Zaman said, “Corruption is also a form of terrorism and it is necessary to curb it from the bud. Corruption in society will lead doors of injustice, so we must take strict measures to control corruption.”

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

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Customs Court seeks track record of suspected smugglers of gold worth Rs 35b KARACHI

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he Special Court of Customs Taxation and Anti-Smuggling on Friday directed Karachi Central Jail’s superintendent to Rile a report whether two suspects of gold smuggling worth Rs 35 billion are involved in any other criminal cases.

The court was hearing two bail applications of suspects Muhammad Zubair and Wajahat Minhas, who moved the court seeking their release on bail. It directed the counsel for applicants and prosecution sides to forward their arguments on the bail pleas on October 02.

According to the prosecution, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Corporate Crime Circle had registered an FIR under Section 156(1) (8), 32/32-A punishable under Section 156(1) (14) of Customs Act 1969 against them.

An inquiry conducted by FIA established that Muhammad Shakeel, the deputy director of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, Karachi, registered the Rirms M/S Rayyan Collection, M/S Atta Casting, M/S Ather Jewellers and M/S Al

Huda Bangles as exporters under Section 3 of the SRO 266(1)2001 dated May 7, 2001, to export gold, silver and platinum jewellery and

precious stones without fulRilling legal requirements of the licenses. The alleged gold traders exported 23 karat gold jewellery worth Rs 35 bil-

lion to the UAE during the period between 2011 and 2012 on fake Eforms as no foreign proceeds returned to the country as an outcome

of the gold export. Muhammad Shakeel, Abdul Qadir Akmal Aziz and other accused persons have already been released on bail.

Quetta Customs foils attempt to smuggle oil worth Rs 3m KARACHI

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odel Customs Collectorate Preventive Quetta has foiled a bid of smuggling engine oil and break oil worth Rs 3 million.

According to the sources, Customs authorities received credible information of smuggling by truck loaded with engine oil and break oil. After receiving this information,

Assistant collector formed a sevenmember team, which intercepted the truck near Beli Check Post and conRiscated smuggled engine oil and break oil worth Rs 3 million.

The driver, who was identiRied as Naimatulllah Kahan, was also arrested. Sources told Customs Today that after the initial investigations, the drive revealed that he has nothing to do with this smuggling of oil as he has to deliver truck to another person after the Beli check-post. Customs Authorities registered a case against the accused while further proceedings are still in progress.

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