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pAkIStAN’S FIrSt INDepth NewSpAper oN cuStoMS

Daily

Vol 1 Issue No. 169

Karachi, Fri August 28, 2015

ISLAMABAD

M FAIZAN

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ustoms Investigation and Intelligence and Motorway Police have joined hands to contain smuggling activities conducted through motorways of the country.

This decision was taken in a meeting between Director General Customs Intelligence, Lutfullah Virk, and In-

spector General Motorway Police, ZulLiqar Cheema. Under this agreement, the Customs Intelligence and Motorways Police will appoint additional director and SSP level ofLicers respectively as focal persons.

Customs Intelligence has appointed Additional Director Muhammad Saleem as focal person while on his directions Deputy Director Shahid Jan will oversee the operations at motorway.

OfLicials told that

Price Rs. 14.00

Customs Intelligence will inform the motorway police about smuggling activities through an SMS on which police will intercept the vehicles concerned at motorway and informed the customs ofLicials for further action.

Customs seizes 120 sewing machines during crackdown

FBR taking measures to use Urdu as official language

Pakistan wants closer ties with Belarus: Hussain

Hyderabad ASO seizes 60,000 litres of smuggled diesel, oil tanker

Government urged to expedite work on FTA with Iran

The ASO has seized foreign origin sewing machines in Multan. | See pAge 02 |

FBR has decided to take steps in order to use Urdu as the oďŹƒcial language | See pAge 03 |

Mamnoon Hussain on Wednesday said Pakistan was keen to forgecloser ties | See pAge 04 |

The Customs ASO confiscated 60,000 litres of smuggled Iranian diesel | See pAge 03 |

The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Wednesday | See pAge 09 |

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Customs seizes 25 smuggled smartphones Friday, August 28, 2015

National

LAHORE: The Customs Lahore Preventive has seized smuggled smart mobile phones at the Allama Iqbal International Airport. The total value of the seized mobile sets are Rs 0.24 million, official sources told Customs Today. According to details, the Customs authorities intercepted a passenger coming from Doha to Lahore by using green channel. The authorities interrogated Afzal Ahmad that if he had anything illegal in his procession and he replied in no. However, when the Customs authorities thoroughly examined the accused, at least 25 mobile phones were found in his baggage.

customs seizes 120 sewing machines during crackdown

Faisalabad IRIntelligence seals furniture showroom on tax evasion FAISALABAD

MULTAN

NAeeM SheIkh

IMrAN ALI

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he Anti-Smuggling Organization has seized foreign origin sewing machines in Multan.

According to details, Customs Anti-Smuggling Organization has seized the imported sewing machines in the location of Hassan Parwana Multan. The quantity of the seized sewing machines were 120 .The seized sewing machines were loaded on the donkey cart and they were trying to dodge the customs by delivering the sewing machines through donkey cart.

But due to strict vigilance of AntiSmuggling Organization staff they have captured the sewing machines.

Customs staff asked them to produce documents of these foreign origin sewing machines but the owner failed to present any document for the evidence of their possession. Inspector Saleem Khan has done operation against the foreign origin sewing machines. An advance information report has been lodged after seizing the sewing machines.

Further investigations were still under process.

Meanwhile, The Model of Customs Collectorate Multan has earned Rs 4.46 million through auction of conLiscated vehicles and miscellaneous goods.

he Directorate of Investigation and Intelligence, Inland Revenue Faisalabad has sealed Shehzad Aalam Furniture Showroom as its owner was not paying sales taxes despite having taxable income.

As per details, Director IR-Intelligence, Shiekh Muhammad Azam, issued instructions to a team comprising Deputy Director-II Bilal Hassan, Umer Younas Bhatti, IR Auditor Qaiser Naeem, Shahid Iqbal and Inspector Talat Mehmood to take stern action against the said company involved in sales tax evasion. The intelligence team raided the showroom and took all the record in the custody, besides sealing the showroom following the tax laws. During investigation, official found that as many as 37 bank accounts were being operated by the company to make transaction. It was also found that total turnover of the said showroom is over Rs 5 million but it was not registered with the department and evading the sales tax deceitfully.

Officials informed that further investigation is underway in this regard.

According to details, Multan Customs held open public sale for the conLiscated vehicles and goods at Customs House. The vehicles were the main part of attraction throughout the auction process. Four vehicles out of six were sold out publicly and two vehicles were rejected due to fewer bids.

The highest bid was for Toyota Corolla G with the price of Rs 1.39

million during auction. Three other vehicles Toyota Hilux Surf, Toyota Raum ,Toyota Vitz vehicle were also sold against offers of Rs 1.15 million, Rs 1.045 million and Rs 0.840 million, respectively.

One yeavy bike of Suzuki Motorcycle of 250cc was not presented in the auction due to legal stay order from Lahore High Court Multan bench against the auction

of heavy bike.

The foreign origin conLiscated vehicles auctioned in Rs 4.425 million during the open sale. Auto services parts accessories of the bike were also publically sale during auction.

All the presented vehicles and items in the auction were seized

by Anti-smuggling Organization during anti-smuggling activities in the region.

Pak-Afghan Customs agree to implement Electronic Data Interchange KARACHI

AFtAB chANNA

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he Pakistan Customs and Afghanistan Customs have agreed to implement Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), which would eliminate misuse of concessionary regime under

the Free Trade Agreement and the Linancial leakages by under-invoicing and mis-classiLication.

According to sources, the Customs authorities of both Pakistan and Afghanistan are in constant contact and the Linal result of the talks would soon be announced. Besides, the Customs had taken the decision after the issuance of an alert by the Federal Board of Revenue earlier this year re-

garding mis-declaration in imports from China under 50 HS codes. The Board had advised veriLication of suspected CertiLicates of Origin directly through the Commercial Missions of Pakistan abroad, discouraging mis-classiLication of goods to obtain concessions and extending beneLits only to goods which strictly matched the description provided in respective SROs. Moreover, in respect of 13 tar-

iff lines the import value declared before Pakistan Customs was in excess of $829 million that that recorded by China Customs as export value to Pakistan. This is indicative of possible mis-classiLication of those goods which attract higher rates of duty but are cleared as goods attracting lower rates. With such major discrepancies, the Customs have been working on to have EDI with China.

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FBR hosts ad agencies competitive presentations ISLAMABAD: The country’s top tax collecting organization – Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) – on Wednesday hosted competitive-presentations by as many as 21 advertising agencies for the purpose of hiring the future publicizing client. FBR’s Member Facilitation and Taxpayers Education (FATE) Nadeem Dar, and Member Inland Revenue-Policy, Shahid Hussain Asad, observed competitive presentations along with representatives of Press Information Department. The day long competitive presentations were held at Board’s headquarters. The final decision regarding selection of new advertising agency would be made with consent of FBR Chairman, Tariq Bajwa.

FBr decides to wind up SeMp project MULTAN

IMrAN ALI

Friday August 28, 2015

National

FBr taking measures to use urdu as official language

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he Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to wind up System for Electronic Monitoring Production (SEMP). This project was launched to monitor output of five departments.

Sources told Customs Today that proper announcement in this effect will be made after the meeting of Evaluation Committee. Sources further revealed that the FBR is going to launch another state-of-the-art project calls Track and Trace System in place of SEMP. It is necessary to mention here, that federal government has introduced stamp system in place of counting system in finance act 2015. Sources said that the new system will definitely come upto the expectations because the FBR authorities were receiving several complaints.

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Lahore customs tribunal hears 10 cases on wednesday LAHORE

MuhAMMAD NAwAZ www.customsbulletin.com

he Customs Appellate Tribunal heard 10 cases on Wednesday and adjourned all cases until next hearing as no any case was decided. Ghulam Murtaza bhatti, Member Judicial bench-I, heard only one case of Ikram International versus Customs Lahore.

Member Technical bench-I, khawja Omer Mehdi, heard two cases of Maxi Inc versus Customs Lahore and Hajji Abbdur Razziq versus Customs Intelligence Faisalabad.

However, tribunals’ bench-I comprising Khawja Omer Mehdi and Ghulam Murtaza Bhatti heard seven cases of Flying Board, O.S crop, Chemi Color, Mirza Farhan Ahmed, Descon, Chudhary Ijaz and Tahir International here and all cases were filled by the appellant against Customs Lahore, after the hearing all cases were adjourned for next hearings.

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ISLAMABAD

M FAIZAN

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he Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to take steps in order to use Urdu as the official language in its routine matters, while the FBR’s Board-in-Council has granted permission in this regard.

As per details, the FBR has assigned task to Member Facilitation and Taxpayer Education (FATE) Nadeem to present the suggestion and recommendations which would be helpful for the FBR to draw the rules and regulations regarding the use of the Urdu as the official language.

Official told that FBR will also develop its official website in Urdu language and give option of Urdu language to taxpayers while filing the tax returns along with English.

It is important to mention here that traders have been demanding of the tax forms in Urdu language since long and now after the FBR’s decision it is going to realise.

Meanwhile, The country’s top tax collecting organization – Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) – on Wednesday hosted competitivepresentations by as many as 21 advertising agencies for the purpose of hiring the future publicizing client.

FBR’s Member Facilitation and Taxpayers Education (FATE)

Nadeem Dar, and Member Inland Revenue-Policy, Shahid Hussain Asad, observed competitive presentations along with representatives of Press Information Department. The day long competitive presentations were held at Board’s headquarters.

The final decision regarding selection of new advertising agency would be made with consent of

official says FBr will also develop its official website in urdu language and give option of urdu language to taxpayers while filing the tax returns along with english.

FBR’s revenue collection performance lauded

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he employees of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), including ofLicers and lower grade staff, should be rewarded and appreciated as they made it possible through their untiring efforts to increase tax to GDP ratio by 9.5 percent during last Liscal year 2014-15.

This was stated by former president of the Lahore Tax Bar Association (LTBA), Habibur Rehman Zubari, in

a statement here on Wednesday.

He added that the FBR ofLicers and other staff should be rewarded for their brilliant performance as the encouragement will further motivate the department to improve its performance.He also lauded the efforts of Member Information Technology, Raana Ahmad who have undertaken a number of expansions in the FBR. He said that computerised exemption certiLicates are being issued which is one very vital and far reaching step in

a positive direction of advancement of the FBR tax system. “Earlier, the attaining the exemption certiLicates was an uphill task for the taxpayers and the withholding agents as they had to wait for days and even months to get the certiLicate. Now it has been made so simple that one can attain the exemption certiLicate simply by entering details in a computerized form and the FBR sends you computerized certiLicate in response on your email address.

FBR Chairman, Tariq Bajwa.

Sources told Customs Today, a two year contract would be signed with the selected advertising agency/agencies.

The agency/agencies would assist in undertaking future advertisements which cost millions of rupees. The new client would also administer public awareness campaigns as per demand of the Board.

tax reforms commission given extension till Nov 15 ederal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has okayed three-month extension to the Tax Reforms Commission. Now the commission will be active till November 15, 2015 to complete the given task. The minister gave extension to the Tax Reforms Commission (TRC) during a meeting, which was also attended

by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Revenue Haroon Akhtar.

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Commerce Ministry to hold seminar on Pakistan’s accession to TIR Convention ISLAMABAD: Ministry of Commerce is holding awareness seminar regarding Pakistan’s recent accession to Convention on the International Transport of Goods (TIR Convention) and its implementation in Pakistan on August 27 (Thursday) here at a local hotel.

According to a statement issued here on Wednesday, Federal Minister for Commerce, Engr.

Khurram Dastgir Khan will chair the seminar.

It may be mentioned here that the United Nations accepted Pakistan’s Instrument of Accession to the TIR Convention which would enter into force for Pakistan on January 21.

Friday, August 28, 2015

Business

pakistan wants closer ties with Belarus: hussain

LAHORE

ISLAMABAD

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resident Mamnoon Hussain on Wednesday said Pakistan was keen to forge closer ties with Belarus in all Lields including trade, economy, defence, and culture. He was talking to Pakistan’s ambassador-designate to Belarus Masood Khan Raja who called on him at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Wednesday.

A press release from the President House said the Ambassador

pAc seeks details of current pensioners

has the unique honour of being Pakistan’s Lirst envoy to Minsk.

The President hoped that the ambassador-designate would make all possible efforts to deepen Pakistan’s relations with Belarus.

The President stressed on the need for initiating joint ventures in various Lields particularly in textile and tractor assembly between the two countries.

He noted that the recent visit of the Prime Minister to Minsk was very successful and impressed upon the ambassador to follow up on the implementation of MoUs and agreements signed during the visit on priority basis.

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ublic Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday directed Finance ministry to provide a comprehensive report of pensioners receiving pension from Pakistan Post Offices and National Bank of Pakistan. The committee meeting chaired by Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah raised certain questions on the report already submitted by the NBP and the ministry on the issue seeking more clarity.

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PESHAWAR

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private company has been barred from conducting performance audit of the Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan on the directives of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) restrained the Deloitte Chartered Accountant, Islamabad from con-

cuStoMS BuLLetIN report skari Bank has posted 42 per cent increase in its profits as the bank earned Rs3.03 billion in the second quarter of calendar year 2015 against Rs2.14 billion of the corresponding period last year.

According to the bank, the growth is after absorbing an additional 4 percent of super tax charge and the retrospective application of uniform tax rate on dividend and capital gains. Profit before tax increased by 77 percent. Earnings per share (EPS) were reported at Rs.2.41 against Rs.1.70 for the corresponding first half of the previous year. The Bank’s total asset base touched Rs500 billion, a growth of 12 percent during the six months.

Askari Bank’s focus on building lowcost deposits has fared well for its net interest margins, which have seen remarkable improvement of 33 percent, despite pressure on net interest spreads owing to steep decline in benchmark rates. Customer deposits grew by 9 percent to Rs422.5 billion, primarily in current and savings deposits.

The cost effective deposit accumulation with a 23 percent increase in current accounts, has enabled the Bank to restrict the rise in interest expense to 9 percent.

A He said there was a lot of scope for enhancement of trade between the two countries and called for efforts in this area pushing the bilat-

eral trade to new heights for the mutual beneLit. The President said that better connectivity and direct air Llights could boost bilateral trade.

Firm barred from conducting performance audit of Awk university

ISLAMABAD

42% growth: Askari Bank earns rs 3.03b in Q2

ducting performance audit of the university till the next order of the court. The order was issued by a division bench comprising Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Muhammad Younas Thahim.

The bench also issued a notice to the provincial government through chief secretary and secretary Higher Education Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, directing it to submit replies in the case till September 3.

Meanwhile, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in collaboration with the FF Steel and

Rastgar and Company organized a one day seminar on the compressed air technology at FF Steel, Hayatabad the other day. The objective of this event is to initiate the process of capacity building of manufacturing sector of KP for attaining sustainability through modern technology and promote the best possible options. The prominent speaker of the event was Imtiaz Rastgar (Ex-CEO, EDB). In his welcome address, Provincial Chief, SMEDA, Javed Iqbal Khattak emphasized upon the need of adopting energy efLicient technologies within the industry.

Only 54,365 accounts opened in HBFCL since 1952, Senate body told ISLAMABAD

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nly 54,365 customers opened their accounts in the House Building Finance Company Limited (HBFCL) since its establishment in 1952.

This was revealed by HBFCL

Managing Director Pervez Saeed during a meeting with the Senate Standing Committee on Finance.

During the meeting, the committee observed that the Linance company has failed to give loans to the poor of the country mainly due to higher interest rate of 10-10.5 percent (KIBOR plus 3.5 percent).

Senate Committee Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla said, “The interest rate is too high,” adding that the company provides only Rs0.5

million for constructing houses, which would even not helpful in preparing cottage.

The HBFCL managing director informed the committee that vacancies of top management in the company are laying vacant from last several years, which are creating hurdles in the work. He further informed that company is working to revamp its business plan, distribution and collection systems in order to make it proLitable entity.

Pervez Saeed further said that the company gave Rs56 billion loans to over 470,000 customers till June 30 2015. The company has made recoveries of over Rs79 billion. The outstanding portfolio of the company is Rs13.77 billion involving 54,356 customs accounts.

Meanwhile, The Auditor General is initiating an inquiry into the National Bank of Pakistan’s claim of 600,000 ghost pensioners.

This was revealed by Auditor

General Rana Assad Amin during a meeting with the National Assembly Public Accounts Committee. He said that the special audit of military and civilian pensioners will be completed within a month and a report will be presented to the parliamentary committee.

NBP President Ashraf Iqbal had claimed that the country’s second largest bank had identiLied 600,000 ghost pensioners during the process of automating bank accounts.

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akistan Customs is all set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China to establish Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) aimed at reducing revenue losses. “We are on procurement stage.

We are going to procure software for the EDI with China and the system would be launched by December 2015�, Collector MCC-Preventive Syed Tariq Huda told Customs Today.

The Collector said that the EDI will help access trade documents on real time basis from computers of cross-border customs stations. The Chinese customs had given feedback and counter proposal on the technical documents, he added.

In order to expedite Linalisation of the EDI arrangement, earlier a meeting with the Chinese Customs for exchange of data relating to the certiLicate of origin between the two countries was held on Feb-

Friday, August 28, 2015

ruary 2 to 4, 2015 in Beijing. And, this is the second meeting of Pakistan Customs ofLicers with the Chinese Customs, Tariq Huda said.

Meanwhile, Model Customs Collectorate Preventive Karachi, Collector Tariq Huda will hold press conference today (July 29) to inform the media about recent seizure of liquor.

While the media cell of Model Customs Collectorate Preventive Karachi is going to organise the event of press conference today at the ofLice of Drug Cell Ghas Bander East near Native Jetty Bridge at 4 pm.

The collector will share the quantity and value of the seized items with media persons and also briefed them on the issue.

He also informed the media about the status of investigation which has been made so far by the customs ofLicials.

Meanhwhile, The Model Customs Collectorate Preventive Karachi staff arrested a passenger at Jinnah International Airport coming from Colombo on Air Lanka Llight and recovered 230 mobile phones worth over Rs 2.3 million

from his possession.

As many as 67 cell phones were attached with the body of the arrested person namely as Noman, while the rest 163 were recovered from his luggage.

As many as 67 cell phones were attached with the body of the arrested person namely as Noman, while the rest 163 were recovered from his luggage.

Additional Collector Dr. Tahir Qureshi received the information who passed it on to his team members, Assistant Collector Wasif Malik, IPS Ashraf Zia and SPO Irfan, those detected the accused and recovered the smuggled mobile phones.

Sources claimed that on the information which was gotten during interrogation from the arrested passenger Noman, another more person Asif was arrested later from the parking lot of Jinnah International Airport for whom the mobile phones were being smuggled.

A First Information Report (FIR) has also been registered against Noman Sheikh and Asif by the Customs Preventive ofLicers.

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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

the SBp assurance

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he State Bank of Pakistan has made it clear that there is no threat to the economy, dispelling the impression that the value of the Pakistani rupee is heading towards a free fall against dollar and the Karachi Stock Exchange is going to collapse as an aftershock of the worst performance of the stock markets in China, Greece and the United States. A bank statement says that inspite of turbulence and panic in the global financial and stock markets, there is no threat to the national economy. It says that the macroeconomic stability, which has been achieved through sustained improvement in economic fundamentals during the last two years, is very much intact and the recent development in the global stock markets will not pose any serious challenge to it. The statement says that the bank is closely monitoring the movement of currency in domestic and international markets and the bank is also cognizant of the global trends in stock markets and their impact on the domestic economy.

The value of Pakistani rupee has been continuously falling in interbank and open currency markets for the last couple of weeks amid panic and turbulence in the financial markets across the globe. A phase of global recession started with devaluation of the Chinese yuan on August 11 which led to depreciation of dollar against the world currencies in the international financial market. The bank says that Pakistan is part of the global economy and the effects of the developments around the globe came in the form of depreciation of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar, which has shown an overall depreciation of 2.6 percent just in one month. The country’s economy is stable and depreciation of the rupee is the result of international currency movements. The bank sees the external sector as robust and the country’s reserves are at historically high level. According to the bank, the value of rupee will remain stable, rather will go forward and it is keenly observing the international economic developments and its impact on the domestic economy.

It is good omen that the central bank has timely taken notice of the situation and the measures will definitely ensure stability in the financial and stock markets. There are the elements who want to take advantage of the situation and such elements must be brought to book. If the country has achieved stability, as it is being claims, a stimulus plan must be devised to push the economy forward.

pakistani stocks react to china’s slowdown woes LAHORE

Dr AFtAB AFZAL

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he Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) has gone down 4.1 percent or 1,419.4 points to settle at 33,100.34 points on the week’s first day of trading on Monday.

The panic selling at the KSE-100 index started as the world stock markets plunged after the China shares dived nearly nine percent and oil prices tumbled in the international market. The US stocks were on track to end the day with steep losses despite a striking comeback in a volatile day. This is almost the first time

the global sell-off which has gripped the local stock market and the same reaction is expected in days to come. According to experts, the KSE-100 Index is reacting in line with global share markets that have been experiencing bearish trends amidst concerns over the slowdown in the Chinese economy and political instability in Greece.

The world equity markets have lost more than $5 trillion in a three-day route, which is followed by the devaluation of currency by the Chinese government. In Karachi, small players are offloading their portfolios as foreign investors are selling their stocks to cover the losses they have incurred during the last few days. The foreign in-

vestors own nearly 30 percent of the $7 billion holdings of the Karachi Stock Exchange and domestic investors promptly reacted to the selling.

On the international market front, the Standard and Poor’s 500 index has been downed by four percent and has apparently landed in correction territory. As the US investors have started focusing on domestic issues, the CBOE Volatility Index shot over the 50 mark before dropping back to 36.

The Karachi Stock Exchange is emerging as an important player in the world financial arena, sharply reacting to variables of demand and supply as well as profit and loss. According to experts, the Chinese stocks have shown the worst

performance since the world experienced overall financial crisis in 2007 and the current situation has wiped out what was left of the gains in 2015. The Pakistani economy is resilient and has always emerged successful from the worst situations. The current losses in the stock market are a transit phase and the situation will go back to normal in the near future. The most pressing issue before the government at the moment is to arrest the falling prices of the Pakistani rupee as dollar has been gaining value day by day whereas it is losing strength in the face of world currency market. Fall of currency means fall of economy and the government must come to rescue the value of the Pakistani rupee.

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ACAAP, PIFFA urge govt to withdraw turnover tax on service industry SIALKOT: The Air Cargo Agents Association of Pakistan (ACAAP) and Pakistan International Freight Forwarders Association (PIFFA) have jointly give a five-day deadline to the government to withdraw 8 percent turnover tax on service industry or they observe strike from September 1.

Both ACAAP and PIFFA gave this deadline to the government, while addressing an important meeting of all the main trade bodies in Sialkot. The meeting was held at the auditorium of Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry. SCCI President Fazal Jillani chaired this meeting. A large number of the air cargo agents, freight forwarders and exporters attended this meeting.

Addressing the meeting, Senior Vice Chairman of ACAAP Irfan Younas termed the levy of 8 percent turnover tax on the service industry as a cut throat for this industry.

Filing of income tax return: kasumbi asks FBr to extend last date to oct 31 cting President of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Muhammad Ibrahim Kasumbi has requested the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to extend last date for filing income tax returns for individuals from August 31, 2015 to October 31, 2015.

In a communiqué issued to Chairman FBR Tariq Bajwa, Acting President Ibrahim Kasumbi pointed out that a large number of KCCI members, while seeking assistance, expressed deep concerns over short time allowed for the tax return for individuals up to August 31, 2015.

“Surprisingly, against the past practice, this time, the last date has been fixed as August 31 instead of September 30, 2015.”

He mentioned that a large number of members were travelling to Saudi Arabia for Hajj which will be followed by Eid-ul-Azha in the last week of September 2015.

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Pakistan textile industry wants to enhance exports ll Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) and other associations of textile industry wanted to enhance their exports provided government extends support and create conducive environment in this regard. “We are committed to enhancing the country’s exports of textile products which had decreased by 1.76 percent in pervious fiscal year (2014-15)”,Vice Chairman APTMAPunjab Region Sheikh Muhammad Akbar told APP on Monday. He said that APTMA has reposed full confidence in the policies of the government and specially Minister for Finance, Ishaq Dar for his efforts in resolving the issues of the textile industry aiming at reducing cost of doing business of the industry.

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Friday August 28, 2015

Chambers

government urged to expedite work on FtA with Iran LAHORE

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he Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Wednesday urged the federal government to expedite work on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Iran as both the countries have huge potential to touch the staggering Ligure of $10 billion trade. These views were expressed by the LCCI President Ijaz A. Mumtaz while talking to the Iranian Consul General Muhammad Hossein Bani Assadi.

Former presidents Bashir A. Baksh, Syed Mohsin Raza Bukhari, Mian Misbah-ur-Rehman, Mian Muzaffar Ali, former vice president Aftab Ahmed Vohra and executive committee members also spoke on the occasion.

Mumtaz said that Pakistan and Iran not only have common border but also share a glorious history.

Pakistan and Iran have close cultural

afLiliations and both have remained steady trading partners as well but in recent years, the momentum of trade has been seriously affected.

Iranian Consul General Muhammad Assadi said that Pakistan and Iran have the potential to cater to

each other’s needs provided the businessmen have the exposure to the available opportunities.

He said that Iran is ready to start barter trade with Pakistan to facilitate the businessmen and to jackup the volume of two-way trade.

pcJccI for developing ‘information silk road’ to boost economy LAHORE

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ak-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) has called for developing an ‘information silk road’ for having maximum beneLits out of economic corridor to be constructed

by China in the Asia-PaciLic region.

PCJCCI President Shah Faisal Afridi said here that roads and railways were easy enough to build, but it was hard to cultivate mental harmony among people that holds more importance in regional connectivity. Information has become a core resource and is crucial to international cooperation.

“The next leap for regional connectivity is to create Asia-PaciLic Information Superhighway,” he said, adding that infrastructure development was progressing steadily for the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, but parallel with a communication and infrastructure network connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa, there was a dire need to break the barriers of information among the connecting nations.

Afridi elaborated that people-topeople bond provides the public support for implementing strategic initiatives. “We should carry forward the spirit of friendly cooperation of the Silk Road by promoting extensive cultural, academic, personnel exchanges and cooperation among media, youth and volunteers so as to win public support for deepening bilateral and multilateral har-

mony,” he said.

The PCJCCI suggested various strategies to promote a well synchronized intellectual and business environment among the silk route countries. He said, “We should expand the scope and scale of bilateral currency swap and settlement with other countries along the Belt and Road apart from opening and developing the bond market in Asia and making joint efforts to establish the joint financial institutions like Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and BRICS New Development Bank, which will pave way for carrying out multilateral financial cooperation in the form of syndicated loans and bank credits in the region through China-ASEAN Interbank Association and SCO Interbank Association,” he maintained.

He said that the business community in the two countries would have to increase interaction to share their experiences in the larger interests of the people of two brotherly nations.

He said that the volume of mutual trade between Pakistan and Iran does not match their respective potentials.

He said that Chambers of Commerce in the two countries would have to focus on expansion of trade by holding single country exhibitions and through trade delegations to each other’s country. He said that dissemination of sector-speciLic and trade-related information would go a long way in achieving the goal. Both the countries should share their experiences in the Lield of science and technology also. He said that agriculture, tourism and metal industry of Iran have opportunities of investment therefore Pakistani business community should come forward. LCCI President said that Iranian Foreign Minister Dr. Mohammad Javad Zarif has proved his credentials by successfully negotiating a difLicult deal with USA regarding lifting of economic sanctions. It will open new avenues of trade for Iran in international market.

RCCI organises 4-day Pakistan Show in US he Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), in collaboration with the Pakistan Chamber of Commerce US (PCC), has organised four-day Pakistan Show and a trade conference at Houston, US. Consul General of Pakistan in Houston Afzaal Mehmood, RCCI President Syed Asad Mashadi, PCC President Syed Waseem Akhter, Pak World Trade Expo Vice Chairman Muhammad Khursheed Barlas, Foreign Affair Standing Committee Chairman Raja Aamir, Commercial Counsellor of Pakistan Fawad Hassan and businessmen from Pakistan and USA also participated in the conference.Speaking on the occasion, Consul General Afzaal Mehmood said that Pakistani Consulate.

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Vietnam Customs seizes illegal ivory from Malaysia Friday August 28, 2015

World

HANOI: Customs officials in Vietnam have confiscated illegally imported ivory for the second time in two weeks. The elephant tusks and pangolin scales were hidden amongst red beans in a container imported from Malaysia.

Seized ivories and ivory products prior to its destruction in Brussels, Belgium According to the Vietnamese VNExpress news website, the police seized ivory in central Danang’s Tien Sa port on Tuesday.

“This is a very big case. At least a ton of elephant tusks and pangolin scales were hidden inside the container,” said Dang Van Toan, head of the control division of Da Nang customs.

In a similar case last week, Vietnamese police busted two tons of ivory from Nigeria

uS customs seizes $8m cocaine inside shipment NEW YORK

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S. Customs and Border Protection ofLicers seized more than $8 million worth of cocaine that had been stashed inside a shipment of tires.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection ofLicers assigned to contraband enforcement at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach seized 424 pounds of cocaine that had been stashed inside a shipment of tires, the agency reported.

The cocaine, which had an estimated street value in excess of $8 million, was discovered Saturday at the Port of Long Beach when ofLicers using scanning technology saw what the agency called an anomaly within a container carrying tires.

Upon inspecting the containers,

china’s cotton imports fall 62.3% in July hina’s cotton imports fell 62.3 percent in July from a year ago to 105,700 tonnes, trade website Cncotton.com said, citing customs data.

Imports by China, the world’s top cotton consumer, are already down by 33 percent this year to less than 1 million tonnes after the government issued fewer quotas in a bid to boost demand for domestic fibre. The gap between international and domestic prices has also narrowed, reducing price incentives for buyers with a quota, with mills turning to ample supplies of domestic cotton. “We don’t expect the numbers to change very much for the next two years, until China stocks are drawn down,” said a trader in Beijing. China holds an estimated 11 million tonnes of cotton in state reserves, around half of the world’s stocks, after it bought up more than 80 percent.

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Customs ofLicers found three large bundles that contained 170 bricksized packages of cocaine.

No arrests were announced, however Customs ofLicials do not consider the company shipping the tires to be the culprit. Investigators believe the container was tampered with at some point during its trans-

port from South America to the United States by a criminal who hid the drugs inside. “Without any doubt, this is one of the most signiLicant narcotics interception in recent years at our nation’s largest seaport,” said Carlos Martel, Customs Port Director for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach said in a statement.

Russian Customs proposes to criminalize illegal food imports

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liminating tomatoes conLiscated at the Russian-Belarusian border, at a consumer waste Lield near the village of Gusin in the Smolensk Region.

Russia’s Federal Customs Service proposes to criminalize illegal food imports from sanctioned countries.

If approved, the motion would put embargoed foods on the same list with weapons of mass destruction and endangered animals.

The authors of the draft posted on the Russian government’s website on

Thursday state that the current administrative responsibility for food contraband is insufLicient to stop those who beneLit from importing banned goods. Instead of Lines between 100,000 and 300,000 rubles ($1540 – $4615) and destruction of the seized contraband, they want to punish such attempts with Lines up to 1 million rubles ($15,400) and prison sentences between three and seven years.

That could be raised to between seven and 12 years if contraband is smuggled by an organized ring.

Saudi customs nabs kuwaiti with 25,000 bullets, firearms C

ustoms officers at Al- Khafji border checkpoint in Saudi Arabia arrested a Kuwaiti citizen in possession of firearms and 25,000 bullets, reports Al-Shahed daily. According to sources, the citizen left Kuwait via Al-Nuwaiseeb border checkpoint and his vehicle was checked at Al-Khafji border checkpoint where the customs officers found the firearms and ammunition in a secret compartment inside the vehicle.

When questioned, he admitted that he was planning to sell the contraband to an individual in Saudi Arabia. The suspect was referred to the concerned authorities for necessary legal action against him. Meanwhile, in the framework of efforts exerted by the Ministry of the Interior to collect unlicensed weapons, ammunition and explosives during the national campaign, the Weapons Investigation Department has arrested a Kuwaiti working for the Ministry of Defence for selling unlicensed guns, says a press release issued by the department.

According to security sources police got a tip-off from an unidentiLied source that the man was selling unlicensed weapons, following which a team of securitymen was formed to raid the man’s house.

However, when the securitymen searched his home, they came empty handed, but during intensive interrogation he broke down and led police to a livestock pen where he had hidden the contraband. Police have seized from the hideout an automatic riLle, a pistol, 3 magazines, 3 air guns and 9 bullets. The contraband and the suspect have been referred to the concerned authorities. In the meantime, a bag containing 185 ammunition rounds of a riLle was found in an open area in Kuwait City, reports Al-Rai daily.

According to security sources, when the Operations Room of Ministry of Interior received a call about the strange object, securitymen rushed to the location and discovered that it is a bag containing ammunition. They referred the ammunition to the Weapons Investigations Department.

korea prices of import farm products fall 9.6% in July

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rices of imported farm products fell 9.6 percent on-month in July mainly due to a dip in international grain costs, government data showed Wednesday.

According to the data by the Korea Customs Service (KCS), the price index for imported farm produce stood at 97 last month, a drop from 107.3 tallied the month before and down 7.7 percent from

a year earlier. The service said the on-month fall was caused by lower overall prices for key staples, such as grain and beans.

Wheat prices edged down 0.1 percent, while adzuki beans lost 3.8 percent Import prices of fruits, vegetables and nuts, on the other hand, all rose, with grape prices surging 40.8 percent compared with June.

Australian wine industry exports looking up for first time in 9 years

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CANBERRA

cuStoMS BuLLetIN report www.customsbulletin.com

here is a new renaissance in the Australian wine industry with exports looking up for the Lirst time in 9 years. According to Stuart Barclay of Wines Australia, the marketing arm of the Australian

Grape and Wine Authority, wine exports from Australia have increased by 5 percent to fetch AU$1.89 billion in the last 12 months. It is the Lirst ever increase in export revenue for Australian wines since 2006/2007.

The chief reason for resurgence of Australian wines is its growing acceptance with Asian taste buds.

The new demand from the Asian

market is driven by the region’s bulging middle and upper classes searching for new gastronomical pleasures aided by their rising incomes, reports the AFP. “It’s really been a rapid change in attitudes towards wine,” noted Sirromet’s sales director Rod Hill, who makes a speciLic mention about China.

In the past, it was hard to see people

in bars drinking wine, but today there is an unbelievable array of wine lists waiting for Chinese customers.

Meanwhile, Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) received a directive from the Australian government to stop investing in future wind power projects.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said.

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Danish Maersk Line expects more profitable trade with Asia, Europe COPENHAGEN: Maersk Line expects the ailing Asia-Europe trade to improve in the second half of this year, as the devaluation of the Chinese currency boost exports and liners decrease capacity. Tim Smith, North Asia regional chief at Maersk Line and Maersk China chairman, said an increase in demand coupled with adjusted capacity could lead to freight rate increases for carriers even though the trade has been buffeted by both falling volumes and spot market rates in recent months. Smith said the recent devaluation of yuan will most likely prove to be a mixed bag for liner services.

tablet shipments expected to fall 8% in 2015, according to IDc data ablet shipments are expected to fall 8 percent in 2015, but 2-in-1 devices will see strong growth, according to IDC data.

IDC had forecast a decline of 3.8 percent in 2015, but now sees shipments falling even more. According to IDC, tablet shipments will reach 212 million with 14.7 million of those 2-in-1 devices similar to Microsoft’s Surface and convertibles from the likes of HP, Dell and Lenovo. Two-in-one devices are expected to see growth of 86.5 percent from a small base. IDC is betting that the growth will continue as PC makers cook up better designs and Windows 10 gains traction. Meanwhile, prices are falling and that fact will goose shipments. Traditional tablet prices will run about $300 due to Android devices. On the enterprise front, companies have been reluctant to invest in tablets and PCs.

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KPT shipping movement report ollowing were the movements of ships at Karachi Port Trust (KPT) during the last 24 hours, ending at 0700 hours on Wednesday.

SHIPS SAILED: FPMC P Glory Tanker ACX Crystal Cont Corvette Cont M.T.Karachi Tanker SHIPS BERTHED: Alam Sayang Coal Chem Master Tanker PAC Aries Container Ship EXPECTED SAILING DATE DL Rose 26/08/15 Hyundai Jakarta 26/08/15 EXPECTED ARRIVAL DATE CARGO Saehan Estrella 26/08/15 L/2500 Ethanol Northern Power 26/08/15 Cont APJShirin 26/08/15 D/11358 G.C DAI Nam 27/08/15 D/25116 Mogas.

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Ports & Shipping

Friday August 28, 2015

europe to Asia freight rates fall as volume forecasts shrink

PORTS

cuStoMS BuLLetIN report www.customsbulletin.com

he government has set up a task force that will specifically work to improve the performance of the country’s ports, particularly the Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta, by reducing their dwelling times.

Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Rizal Ramli said his ministry has appointed Ronnie Rusli, a senior lecturer at the University of Indonesia, as the coordinator of the Dwelling Time Taskforce. Ronnie will work with the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister, the National Police and the Indonesian Military.

“The port authority has limited power, yet we cannot hand over the task [to reduce dwelling time] to Pelindo because it has its own interests,” Rizal said, referring to the state port operator. According to Rizal, the taskforce has been given a month to slash the dwelling time at Tanjung Priok Port.

Meanwhile, Ronnie said his taskforce is expected to reduce the dwelling time from the current 5.5 days to between 2.5 and 2 days by October.

“We have to achieve the target because it is what has been instructed by the President,” Ronnie said, adding that one of the taskforce’s first attempts to expedite the dwelling time was done by strengthening the IT system.

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BEIJING

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aritime and air freight rates for some of the world’s busiest trade routes are tumbling as slower growth in China combined with a sluggish eurozone economy dash forecasts for higher volumes during the normally busy late-summer season. Ship operators on key Europeto-Asia circuits have been struggling for a while with falling rates amid lingering overcapacity from the global economic crisis. This time of the year typically provides a lift as retailers of Asian-made goods— items as diverse as toys, clothing and electronics—start to move car-

Govt sets up task force specifically work to improve performance of ports

goes ahead of the end-of-year holidays in Europe and North America.

This year that gift-giving bounce hasn’t yet materialized, and market watchers are blaming lower de-

mand from Europe, as well as an easing Chinese appetite for luxury items and other imports. Shipping brokers in London and Singapore said last week’s.

Shipping, port activity rise by 3% during Q2 2015 in Ireland hipping and port activity in the Republic of Ireland rose by 3% in the second quarter of 2015 when compared to the corresponding period of 2014, according to the latest quarterly iShip Index* published today by the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO). The latest analysis also indicates that four of the five principal freight segments grew in the second quarter of 2015. Unitised traffic which consists of Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro/Ro) off and Lift-on/Lift-off (Lo/Lo) traffic continued to rise steadily and has now shown consistent growth for an extended period, with an average growth of 6% per quarter in unitised traffic since Q2 2013 as measured by the IMDO’s iShip Index*. The majority of Ro/Ro traffic moves between Ireland and Great Britain. This freight segment is a simple but reliable indicator of the level of trade between both economies. Encouragingly, the Ro/Ro freight sector saw volume growth of 7% in the second quarter to 258,390 units. This is the tenth consecutive quarterly increase that Ro/Ro freight traffic has experienced. Lo/Lo imports have now risen for seven consecutive quarters, reaching 95,550 teu.

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Town of Port Hedland accepts $205m airport deal in Australia

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CANBERRA

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he Town of Port Hedland has accepted an offer by a private consortium to take control of its airport. Under the deal the 50year lease, worth $205 million, has gone to AMP Capital and Infrastructure Capital Group which will make a $165 million one-off payment to

the Town and commit to spend $40 million over the next Live years on airport upgrades.

Mayor Kelly Howlett said the offer was considerably higher than fair-value estimates by its consultants, which ranged from $137 million to $157 million. She said the Town would now look to use the payment to create a wealth fund, which under one proposed model could deliver $388.5 million to the

community. “This illustrates the enormous value of the deal,” she said. Hailed as the biggest transaction in the Town of Port Hedland’s history and one of the State’s bigger privatisations, the deal is likely to capture the attention of the aviation industry and local governments across Australia.

The State Government in its recent State Aviation Strategy outlined its preference to help local govern-

ments privately lease their airports.

AMP Capital head of Australian and New Zealand funds Michael Cummings said management of Port Hedland airport added to the group’s portfolio, which included Melbourne and Launceston airports in Australia and Newcastle Airport in Britain. He said Hedland airport was attractive because of its role in supporting the Pilbara town’s resources industry.

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BD Customs seizes contraband medicine worth Tk 20m DHAKA: Customs officials at Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport have seized contraband medicine worth about Tk 20 million imported under a false declaration. The medicine was found at the airport’s courier section on Sunday noon. They were brought in under the guise of foodstuff, Shahiduzzaman Sarkar, Assistant Commissioner of Dhaka Customs House, told media. “Around 22 types of life-saving medicine were brought from Turkey using a false address at Dhanmondi,” he added. None could be arrested over the seizure.

Friday, August 28, 2015

CUSTOMS BULLETIN

Faisalabad Customs Intelligence earns Rs 3.3m through auction FAISALABAD

NAeeM SheIkh

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The Customs Investigation and Intelligence Faisalabad has earned Rs 3.383 million through auction of seized items which were held during anti-smuggling activities.

As per details, Customs Intelligence held an auction of as many as nine different lots for open bid where three lots out of nine attracted suitable bid, while the remaining six lots were rejected by the bidders.

Customs Intelligence sold a lot comprising 1,715 pieces of hair straightener, hair dryer and other items against Rs 122,100, 12 pieces of front cabin for heavy trafLic vehicles against Rs 924,000 and 5160 kilograms of black tea against Rs 2.337 million.

Meanwhile, The Anti-Smuggling Organization (ASO) Sargodha has seized a Toyota Hiace van in Sallanwali. The market value of the vehicle is Rs 1,200,000/-.

Sources told Customs Today that Assistant Collector Muhammad Asim Awan received information regarding the smuggling of Toyota Hiace

van. After which, he constituted a raiding team comprising Bashir Ahmed, Ansir Saleemi (inspectors), Rana Muhammad Ashrif, Muhammad

Iqbal, Shafqat Mehmood, Muhammad Feroz, Muhammad Mansha (sepoys).

The ASO team intercepted Toyota Hiace bearing registration No. BQU-092

model 1992 near Lak Adda Sallanwali Road Sargodha and asked its owner, who was identiLied as Safder Iqbal son of Muhammad Hayat, a res-

ident of Sargodha, to produce legal documents regarding possession of Toyota Hiace, but the owner failed to provide the same.

Mohsin Aziz slams govt for enhancing gas tariff for industries F

PESHAWAR

NADIr khAN

www.customsbulletin.com ormer President of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry and vice chairman of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade, Senator Mohsin Aziz has slammed the federal government decision regarding proposed increase in gas tariff for industry by six percent from next month, and termed it completely unjustified with smaller federating units, particularly ter-

rorism-affected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In a statement, he said KP has faced number of disadvantages, due to far away from port-city couple with suffering from prolonged terrorism. He further said the province is striving to convert disadvantages into opportunities by utilization of its abundant oil, and gas reserves along with other natural resources. However, he said that federal government was intentionally taking back all these advantages of natural resources under a pre-plan.However, he said the crude oil prices have come to

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the lowest level in last six years, adding that the increase in gas tariff will render this indigenous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa gas unviable because of the increase instead of decrease due to petroleum prices. The implementation of Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) at the rate of Rs 100 and Rs 200 mmcfd is also making this resources out of the range of industrial and captive power producer. Therefore, he said not only imposition of GIDC be deferred but also the purposed increase shall not imposed as other including the industries.