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Karachi, Wed April 26, 2017

FAISALABAD

NAEEM SHEIKH

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The Customs AntiSmuggling Organization seized miscellaneous goods worth Rs15.1million in different operations during third week of April of Fiscal Year 217-18. Sources told Customs Today that under the supervision of Deputy Collector Muhammad Rizwan, the ASO team conducted various raids against the smugglers to curb the illegal business. The ASO team, participating in these seizure operations, consisted of Superintendent Dilawar

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Hussain, Inspector Khalid Ashraf Noor, Inspector Ali Zahid, Inspector Khalid Mehmood Dogar, Sepoys Muhammad Ashraf, Liaqat Ali, Israr Ahmad and Muhammad Abdullah. The ASO team impounded three offending vehicles under section (U/S 157) worth Rs03.1million, auto parts worth Rs456759 and other miscellaneous goods (13193-kg) worth Rs01.8million. The ASO seized items with section contravened of Import and Export Control Act-1950 punishable under Section 156(i) 89(i) and 90 of the Custom Act-1969 and forwarded the cases to the Customs Adjudication further proceeding.

Gwadar Customs launches operation against diesel smuggling

Attractive investment opportunities in Pakistan’s growing economy

Easypaisa tops with 9.1m branchless banking accounts: SBP

Customs Central Region customs duty collection up 2 pc

DG Valuation revises customs values of ethyl hexanol & phthalic anhydrite

GwadarCustomshaslaunchedcrackdown againsttheillicitsmugglingofIraniandiesel | SEE pAgE 02 |

Dar said Pakistan’s economy has witnessed tremendous economic turnaround | SEE pAgE 03 |

Easypaisa is remained on the number one position for having 9.1 million | SEE pAgE 04 |

Customs central region has collected Rs32277m CD during the nine month | SEE pAgE 14 |

TheDGofCustomsValuationhasrevisedthe customsvalueof ethylhexanol/octanol | SEE pAgE 16 |

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FBR decides to exempt SESSI from taxes Wednesday, April 26, 2017

National

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has exempted Sindh Employees Social Security Institution (SESSI) from taxes. According to the details, FBR exempted SESSI from taxes due to eﬀorts of Commissioner SESSI Mohammad Farooq Leghari. FBR has also allotted a free-tax number. It is pertinent to mention here that SESSI is an independent organization and working for the welfare of the labourers in the province. SESSI is a service oriented organization. It provides medical care facilities and cash beneﬁts to the workers and their dependents.

gwadar customs launches operation against diesel smuggling

LAHORE

KARACHI

M IMrAN MEHAr

wAQAr AHMED ANSArI

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he Special Federal Court of Customs Taxation and Anti-Smuggling has approved a two-day physical remand of the accused arrested by the customs authorities from Lahore on the charge of smuggling powder milk by showing it as plastic raw material. According to sources of Customs Today, an accused Zahid Rasheed was booked by the customs intelligence while he was trying to smuggle a huge quantity of powder milk of different brands. The Customs Intelligence, on a tip-off, intercepted a truck in suburbs of Lahore city and found it loaded with international branded powder milk. Later, the customs intelligence raided a warehouse and found a huge quantity of powder milk. The customs team found 9349 bags of powder milk of different brands. Weight of the recovered powder is 232,000 kilo grams. The value of the recovered powder milk is Rs70millions. Accused Zahid Rasheed has incurred a huge loss to the national kitty in the wake of taxes and duties. The smuggled milk has been brought from America, Turkey, Holland, Korea and India. All of the milk was smuggled from these countries by different routes, especially from Afghanistan.

wadar Customs has launched crackdown against the illicit smuggling of Iranian diesel. On the directives of the Collector action against the illicit smuggling of Iranian diesel have been further stepped up and accordingly, a massive operation against the smuggling of Iranian origin High Speed Diesel in the areas Panjgur, Turbat, bland and Hub has been launched in collaboration with Frontier Corps (FC), Balochistan. As a result during the last three weeks, the Colleetorate has been able to seize 288,000 Litres of smuggled High Speed Diesel worth Rs17.2 million so far. The operation is still underway and expected to yield better results by eventually curbing the unscrupulous elements involved in the illicit business of smuggling. Meanwhile, The directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation (I&I) Quetta foiled smuggling attempts and recovered luxury tyres and computer accessories in two different operations. According to details, Collector Customs I&I Dr. Saeed Khan Jadoon received a tip-off regarding transportation of smuggled goods. He immediately called up customs I&I team to curb the smuggling attempt.

customs court approves physical remand of milk powder smuggler

The team, under the supervision of Deputy Collector Safdar Ali, started searching vehicles at exit points of Nokandi. While searching, the team intercepted a truck bearing registration No: LA-968 and recovered 60 luxury tyres of cars and jeeps from the truck. The customs I&I team asked the driver to show documents

regarding legal possession and transportation of tyres but they remained failed to provide any required document. The team seized the tyres and registered a case against the driver and cleaner of vehicle who were identiPied as Sajid Rind and Bashir. The seized tyres are said to be worth Rs1 million. Meanwhile, in another

operation, Deputy Collector Customs Preventive along with Sultan Khan, Safdar Ali, Khanzada Ibrahim, and other staff, raided a warehouse near Bara market and recovered smuggled computer accessories. The team recovered 12 LEDs, monitors, 80 mother boeards, key boards and mouse from the warehouse.

Multan customs issues new guidelines for issuance of T

MULTAN

IMrAN ALI

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he Model Customs Collectorate has issued new ofPice order for the issuance of WeBOC IDs to importers. According to details, Collector Customs Saud Imran Ahmad has issued new directions that all WeBOC ID applicants shall be issued a demand for submitting requisite documents not later than three working days from receipt of the ap-

plication. The applicant applying for WeBOC ID should completely submit all necessary documents to Customs authorities when it required with in the given date. The applicant will be bound for physical veriPication of the place made for the ofPice within seven days after the completion of required documents submitted. If the applicant fails to arrange physical veriPication of the customs authorities on the given date then applicant will inform the additional collector in writing

and intimate about physical veriPication date. The veriPication date should not lie in the gazetted holi-

days to avoid any inconvenience. If the applicant fails to arrange physical veriPication of the Customs authori-

ties on the decided date then customs department shall inform him of veriPication as convenient to ofPicial schedule of department. Collector Saud Imran directed Multan Customs authorities that any objection raised on applicant documentation shall be communicated to him expeditiously in writing. The applicant has complete right to bring his dispute complaint or grievance regarding any matter related to the issuance of WeBOC ID, to the notice of the Additional Collector Customs.

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Faisalabad Adjudication settles 239 cases during three months FAISALABAD: The Customs Adjudication settled 239 cases of smuggling and recovered Rs222.401 million during ﬁrst three months of ﬁscal year 2017. As per details, the cases were lodged by Anti Smuggling Organization (ASO) Faisalabad, Mianwali, Sargodha, Jhang, Sara- e-Muhajir and Customs Intelligence and Investigation Faisalabad. All the cases have been decided in favour of the departments as the respondents remain failed to provide any legal arguments before the court. The adjudication department heard cases of smuggled cloth, and vehicles which were brought into country through illegal means.

Sargodha ASo seizes non duty paid toyota crown

Wednesday April 26, 2017

National

Attractive investment opportunities in pakistan’s growing economy

FAISALABAD

NAEEM SHEIKH

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he Field Investigation Unit (FIU) of ASO Sargodha impounded a foreign origin Toyota Crown car model 1981 bearing registration no: ID- 4272. The market value of the seized vehicle is Rs12,00,000 involving customs duty and taxes to the tune of Rs6,16,440. Sources told to Customs Today that Collector Muhammad Sadiq received information that some non duty paid vehicles are plying on roads. After receiving the information DC Rizwan take necessary measures and formed a team comprising Superintendent Ch Muhammad Sardar, Bashir Ahmed, Ansir Saleemi, Iqbal, Muhammad Mansha, Abdullah, Muhammad Imran, Muhammad Ashraf, Muhammad Feroz (sepoys).

NAB will soon nominate three oﬃcers for JIt ISLAMABAD

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he National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will soon nominate three officers for the Joint Investigation Team to probe allegation against ruling family in Panama leaks case. The Supreme Court (SC) asked the NAB to forward names of three officers and it would pick one officer out of the three for appointment to the JIT, which would investigate the ruling family. The SC on Thursday had directed constituting a JIT to be headed by an additional directorgeneral of the Federal Investigative Agency and the representatives of the Inter-Services Intelligence, the Military Intelligence, the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, and the NAB. Well-placed sources said that the NAB had received the SC orders for nominating three of its officers on afternoon.

ISLAMABAD

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ederal Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar said Pakistan’s economy has witnessed tremendous economic turnaround and is currently reckoned as one of the fastest growing economies in the region with countless investment opportunities. While delivering a keynote address at the Heritage Foundation Washington DC on the topic ‘Pakistan’s Economic Reforms: It’s Quest for Investment, Prospects for Development & Social Change”, Minister said that after assuming power in 2013, PML (N) govt immediately undertook concerted efforts to stabilize ailing economy said a press release. He said that Pakistan and the U-S are longstanding friends, partners and strategic allies. They have enjoyed a strong long-term, and broad bilateral partnership with many shared interests. Both the countries have worked closely to counter terrorism and to ensure peace and stability in the region. These efforts will provide conducive environment for further Plourishing partnership between the two countries. He further emphasized that Pakistan is looking forward to working closely with the new US Administration to further develop and strengthen bilateral relations. We

have already had some very promising interactions with the new Administration to this end. The Govt has vigorously pursued 4Es strategy focusing on Energy, Economy, Elimination of Extremism and Education (Social Sector/Health). Structural reforms were introduced which included reducing un-targeted subsidies and broadening tax base coupled with building Foreign Exchange Reserves and curtailing inPlation rates. Tax collections have in-

He emphasized that pakistan is looking forward to working closely with the new uS administration to further develop and strengthen bilateral relations

govt extends subsidy on traps to control fruit

MULTAN

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www.customsbulletin.com he Punjab Agriculture Department is offering 30 to 50 percent subsidy on installation of traps to control fruit Plies in mango and citrus orchards, across the province. This was stated by Assistant Director Horticulture, Fruit and Vegetables Muhammad Akram. He said growers, having more than 12 and half acres orchards were provided

30 percent subsidy while small growers were availing 50 percent subsidy on special traps of methyl eugenol, protein hydrolycet, malathion and plastic traps. Traps were unconventional way to control fruit Plies. Earlier, growers used pesticides but traps were entirely different and benePicial to control Plies, he added. He said Punjab government was paying immense focus on orchards management, adding fruit flies pose serious threat to fruits qual-

ity, production and exports. The total per acre cost for installing traps is Rs 3,188, he added. To a query about effectiveness of traps on production, he said traps helped to enhance quality of fruits production from 10 to 100 percent. He further said growers could contact agriculture department for availing the facility. He said that proposals had been sent to government for installation of the traps in all orchards of the province.

creased by 60% over the last 03 years which is a complete break with the past, he added. Minister Dar remarked that due to the prudent Piscal and monetary policies, Pakistan has witnessed a strong economic turnaround which is evident in GDP growth rebound, low to moderate inPlation, stable rupee and remarkable increase in foreign exchange reserves.As a consequence, all key economic indicators have recorded signiPicant improvement over past four years.

fIA teams arrests 79 power pilferers he Pesco Surveillance and FIA teams conducted joint raids in different areas of Khyber, Peshawar and Swat Circles and nabbed 79 more power pilferers. According to details during checking in the areas of Lala sub-division of Peshawar Circle nabbed 4 commercial connections including a tempered meter of Ghufran S/o Feroz Khan.

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PIA to start daily flight for London from 25th Wednesday April 26, 2017

Business

LAHORE: PIA is going to start daily flight for London from Pakistan from April 25. Two of these flights, on Wednesdays and Sundays, would be operated directly from Karachi. On other days, convenient connections within two to three hours would be provided to Lahore or Islamabad for flights operating from there. For tickets purchased before 27th May 2017, PIA is also offering special promotional 15 percent discount on flights operating via Lahore and Islamabad, which would be valid for travel till the end of current year.

Easypaisa tops branchless banking accounts KARACHI

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asypaisa is remained on the number one position for having 9.1 million accounts and with 46 percent share in total branchless banking in the country, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said. The SBP in its review of branchless banking for October – December 2016, said that the major three players are competing with each other to capture the BB market share. The player-wise ranking in accounts did not see any major change as compared to the previous quarter, as Easypaisa remained the top contributor with 9.1 million ac-

wB to continue energy financing WASHINGTON

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orld Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said on that the multilateral lender does not plan to change its stance on financing alternative energy projects and mitigating the eﬀects of climate change. Asked about the Trump administration’s scepticism about climate change at a news conference, Kim said the World Bank would continue to work with governments and the private sector to boost financing for alternative energy, especially in China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan and Vietnam.

counts, followed by Jazzcash and Omni with 7.9 million and 2.4 million accounts, respectively. “The remaining players need to

put their efforts to give Pinancial services to the underserved people as their total share in BB accounts further dropped by 2 percent over the

previous quarter,” the central bank said. The SBP said that industry showed growth in key indicators during the quarter Oct-Dec 2016. SigniPicant rise have been observed in number of transactions, number of accounts and average deposits per account increasing by 21.5 percent, 18 percent and 17 percent, respectively compared to previous quarter. During the current quarter, BB transactions grew to 133.7 million valuing Rs596.9 billion, which is 21 percent higher in volume and 14.8 percent higher in value in comparison to the previous quarter. The numbers of BB accounts have also increased to 19.9 million in the quarter Oct-Dec16. Similarly, number of agents of the BB industry grew by 2.2 percent during the quarter, reaching to 359,806 by the end of current quarter.

govt provides various incentives to improve production of local industry M

ISLAMABAD

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inister for Industries and Production Ghulam Murtaza Khan Jatoi said that the present government has provided various incentives to local industry aiming to improve international competitiveness and local productivity during the last four years. He said that the ministry has taken many initiatives through its organizations including announcement of Automotive Development

Policy (ADP 2016-21) to attract investment in Greenfield for installation of new automotive plants and Brownfield investments for revival of closed down units. He said that new Entrant Policy for Motorcycle industry to promote investments with new technologies including Small & Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA), access to finance, youth development initiatives, direct taxes, indirect taxes, export promotion, customs, industrial development, textile package, incentives for industry under Strategic Trade

Policy Framework (STPF 2015-18). He informed the Upper House that SMEDA was helping the people for establishment of industries in the country. He said that SMEDA helps those people who want to establish their industries. The minister said that about five international companies were ready to establish their industries in Pakistan including four companies from China and one from Europe, adding that “we welcome all those companies who were ready to establish their industries in the country.”

pakistan can export €20b dairy products to Europe ISLAMABAD

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mbassador of United Arab Emirates Essa Abdullah Al Basha Al Noaimi has said that Pakistan’s dairy sector has the potential to promote €20 billion exports of dairy products to Europe and other countries if the country develops this sector on modern lines. He said the UAE considered Pakistan an important country of Muslim world and wanted to further enhance bilateral trade with it. He said this while addressing the business community at the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He said that under UAE’s Pakistan Assistance Programme, 165 projects were launched in Pakistan in health, education, infrastructure development and other areas that would mitigate the problems of Pakistani people. He said the UAE was going to organise the first international level “Expo 2020” in which 80 countries would participate and about 50 million people would visit this event. He invited Pakistani business community to participate in that expo and explore new business opportunities. He said that businessmen could set up pavilions or hire space in that expo.

govt requested to abolish duties & reduce input tax on tractors PESHAWAR

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he Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) has requested the government to abolish custom duty, additional custom duty, and reduce the rate of input tax on tractors. Submitting the Budget Proposals 2017-18 for the tractor industry, the PAMA stated that due to these is-

sues the entire industry is facing lack of interests from foreign investors. The Engineering Development Board (EDB) had earlier allowed the import of those components for manufacturing of agricultural tractors which had not been developed in Pakistan at zero percent custom duty. “However during the year 201516, additional custom duty of 1% on import of such components was imposed by the government

through mini-budget. Further, 1% custom duty was imposed through budget for the year 2016-17 accumulating to a total of 2% custom duty,” stated PAMA. The association reasoned that this levy of duty has contributed an increase to the cost by approximately Rs33million during January to December 2016. “It is proposed to exempt imports made under SRO 655(I)/2006 and SRO 656(I)/2006 from additional custom duty under SRO-

1178(I)/2015 and agricultural tractor parts being imported,” suggested PAMA. “It would keep the prices of agricultural tractors within the buying power of small and medium scale farmers. The abolition of custom duty and additional custom duty on import of components allowed by EDB will help the company that has no other alternative besides import,” stated the PAMA. “This will eventually benePit the entire farming community, stated PAMA by suggesting

further reduction in the rate of input tax on purchase of imported components by tractor manufacturers to match the output rate. This will help the industry to reduce yearly refunds by 600-700 million,” suggested PAMA. Besides, agricultural tractors are subjected to sales tax at the rate of 5% against the components purchased locally as well as imported components required to manufacture tractors which are subjected to sales tax at the rate of 17%.

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ederal Board of Revenue Chairman Dr Muhammad Irshad has exhorted the FBR ofPicers posted in Pield formations to step up their efforts and work to the best of their abilities in the next couple of months to meet the revenue collection target set for the year. “I know it is a gigantic task but time and again the FBR ofPicers and staff have done it in the past and I am sure with greater focus, energy and vigour in their revenue collection efforts, they can meet this year’s target as well,” he said in a video-link address beamed out live from the FBR House in Islamabad to the ofPicers in FBR’s Pield formations across the country. Chief Collector North Sarwat Tahira Habib told Customs Today that during his video address, the FBR chairman has given the clear guidelines to chief collector north to meet the assigned target of current month of April of Financial Year 2016-17. She said that in the light of the guidelines provided by the chairman, all the relevant MCCs, including MCC Islamabad, MCC Peshawar, MCC Samberial and MCC GilgitBaltistan, have been intimated to follow them in letter and spirit. The chief collector north is optimistic that all the collectorates, working under the jurisdiction of chief collector ofPice, will achieve the assigned target of current month and the

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

current Financial Year 2016-17. While speaking to the ofPicers after his extension as the FBR chairman, Dr Irshad said he had lots of expectations from the ofPicers of both IRS and PCS posted in the Pield formations to prove that they were capable of delivering on the hopes and promises of generating sufPicient revenue to drive the socioeconomic agenda of the government. “It is a question of professional capacity, competence, prestige and honour that each one of us faces in measuring up to the challenge of achieving the tax collection target and stemming the trend of revenue shortfall that has gone unchecked for almost three quarters in a row now,” he said. The chairman reminded the ofPicers that there were certain areas such as recovery of arrears, realisation of revenue stuck up in litigation, regular auction of conPiscated goods, implementation of valuation rulings and expeditious clearance of goods at ports and airports which with renewed efforts and greater focus could yield a considerable amount of revenue to shore up the overall revenue Pigures for the current year. He assured the ofPicers that he understood and deeply valued the welfare of all his ofPicers and staff and he had already in a short period as Chairman FBR taken a host of measures to inject new energy and vigour in the organisation by resolving pending issues regarding promotions, upgradation of posts and fresh recruitments. “My vision is to transform FBR into a choice organisation in

the public sector, by providing the best environment for discharge of duties .. I wish to transform FBR into an organisation which cares for its employees … I believe in the fact that a happy employee is a productive employee and employee satisfaction and employee welfare within the ambit of law are positively correlated,” he added. Dr Irshad also shared with the ofPicers the aims and objectives of the FBR Foundation that had already become operational with the swearing-in of Saleem Ahmed Ranjha, a BS-21 ofPicer of Pakistan Customs Service, as its Pirst CEO the other day. “Every journey begins with the Pirst step taken in the right direction and it is my resolve to make every possible effort for the welfare of employees whether serving or retired and FBR Foundation provides an ideal platform for offering all types of welfare services, including quality education and healthcare, in a structured fashion to the serving and retired employees of FBR,” he said. Speaking on the occasion, FBR Foundation CEO Saleem Ahmed Ranjha thanked the ofPicers and FBR leadership for reposing trust in him and letting him the opportunity to serve the FBR employees. He said he had several ideas in his mind to turn them into initiatives in the coming months as he hoped to work in close association with his fellow FBR colleagues to make the FBR Foundation a success. He said the membership drive for the Foundation would start very soon and the membership form would be uploaded on FBR’s website.

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EDItorIAL

chinese investment in textile sector

fficials of a visiting Chinese delegation have expressed the desire to set up textile units in Pakistan. According to them, the Chinese business community is facing high cost of production as well as environmental issues and Pakistan is an ideal place for the relocation of textile industry.There is no better idea thansetting up multidisciplinary, multiple-format, diversified textile enterprises in Pakistan by the business communities of the two countries. The European Union is fast reaching a saturation point as their industry is heading towards collapse due to high cost of doing business, low young population and financial crisis which are travelling from one country to another. The Pakistani industry is facing energy crisis, overlapping tax system, corruption and terrorism. The there is no action plan to streamline industry, investment and trade activities. In this hour of need, the offer by the business community of China is good omen. The visiting Chinese officials have discussed various issues and opportunities of cooperation with their Pakistani counterparts. There is no denying the fact that people to people or business to business contact between Pakistan and China is almost non-existent and it needs to be established. As the government is planning to establish export processing zones and industrial estates along the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, it will be in the best interest of the local investors to set up joint ventures in partnership with the Chinese businessmen. Besides, development of infrastructure is already in process and the government should facilitate the local and foreign investors with tax facilities along with duty-free import of equipment, machinery and raw material. The government’s ease of doing business plan should be made viable with practical steps and not mere through the lip-service. The local and foreign investors should also be treated in the same manners to remove sense of deprivation or the sense alienation from any side. A capacity building programme for the government officials is also need of the hour so that they should work as facilitators and not as trouble makers. It is a positive steps of the government in which it has allowed foreign direct investment in all sectors and has allowed 100 percent foreign equity investment without any requirement of the government permission.

pakistan’s electricity woes W LAHORE

Dr AftAB AfZAL

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ith the rise of temperature in various parts of the country, the electricity shortfall has soared up to 6,000 megawatts, promoting unscheduled load shedding from 12 to 16 hours a day. The officials put the electricity demand at 19,000 megawattagainst overall power supply of around 13,500 megawatt, suggesting a shortfall of 5,500 megawatt.The gap is filled through so-called load management as old age supply system also needs to be protected which causes up to 18 percent line losses. Some sources suggest the country pro-

duces less than 13,000 megawatt electricity and only 10,000 megawatt actually reaches the consumers.It is believed some government places and the industries owned by powerful politicians are immune to any load shedding schedule and only commoners are the victims of every trouble. Electricity generation is the task which needs to be done on priority basis and even the present government came to power with a promise that it will end load shedding within three years. However, the government has completed three years in the office, but there is no letup in the people’s woes. They continue to suffer in winter in the name of shortage of water and in summer due to raise in

electricity consumption. The pathetic part of the situation is that no data is available to ascertain the exact figures of electricity generation, line losses and consumption. Sources suggest everything is a guess work. The power supply system is not overhauled in parts of the country which also causes interruption and losses. Over three years of the present government has passed and it is still feeding the nation on empty rhetoric and false promises. In this situation, the field staff has to set priorities for distribution of electricity to various parties of the country. Many feeders where shut down last year due to less electricity generation and more demand for supply. Various cities of the

country are facing unusual rise in temperature which is recorded at 47 degrees Celsius in Sibbi, Bhakkar, Rahimyar Khan and Khanpur and 46 degree Celsius in Dadu, Bahawalpur, Bhawalnagar, Larkana, Sukkur and Shorkot this month. The met offices predict rising temperature in coming weeks and demand for electricity will further increase in urban and rural areas of the country. The industry is already facing worst kind of load shedding, slashing the output to minimum level. However, the government should have to clear its mind that it is responsible for electricity generation and its distribution. And it is the government which has to resolve the issue.

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LCCI demands fire hydrants at inaccessible markets LAHORE: Expressing concern over fire incidents and losses to business community, Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) called for ensuring installation of fire hydrants at those market places which are inaccessible for fire tenders. LCCI President Abdul Basit has said that concrete measures are needed to avoid fire incidents in markets. He urged the government to announce compensation for businessmen who have suffered losses. He also advised business and industrialist community to get fire insurance of their business concerns at their own. The LCCI President said that causes for fire incidents in must be rectified. Abdul Basit opined that Lahore and Karachi have attained the status of commercial hubs of the country, so due attention be given towards upgradation of fire-fighting equipment to control the situation in case of emergency.

govt needs more efforts to ensure sustain security in Karachi: KccI KARACHI

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arachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Former president and Chairman Businessmen Group Siraj Kassam Teli endorsed that Sindh Government was doing good job for Karachi and stamped as “ 70% corrections were made.” However, he said, more efforts were required to ensure sustained security to life and property of the people of this mega city. Sindh Government should focus on capacity development of the police for their better performance, he said. He highlighted on the salient features of My Karachi. Its capacity

had doubled to six halls since its inception. Former president KCCI and former chairman Sindh Investment Board Muhammad Zubair Motiwala drew attention of the Chief Minister to treatment plants and urged that these should be constructed at the earliest possible time to support trade and industry, and keeping the city and its coastal-line clean. President, Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Shamim Ahmed Firpo in his welcome address spoke of the civic and infrastructure issues irritating trade and investment activities in the city. Meanwhile, Besides many local companies, exhibitors from Russia, Belarus, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Romania, Ukraine, Malaysia, Iran, Turkey, Thailand and Indonesia are participating in 3-day “My Karachi : Oasis of Harmony “ international trade exhibition scheduled to start from April at Karachi Expo Centre.

Wednesday April 26, 2017

Chambers

British Mps term pakistan as ‘land of opportunities’ H

KARACHI

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ead of 7-member British Parliamentary delegation Rehman Chishti MP, while terming Pakistan as ‘land of opportunities’, said that the country has huge potential as there are plenty of business opportunities in Pakistan, particularly in Karachi, which is the basic reason why UK parliamentarians are keen to strengthen and deepen relations with Pakistan. “We are here in Pakistan and Karachi as we believe that Pakistan’s economy is going to become the 20th largest economy of the world by 2030 because of good governance and infrastructure”, he added while interacting with the media during second day of 14th My Karachi-Oasis of Harmony Exhibition at Expo Center. President KCCI Shamim Ahmed Firpo, Senior Vice President KCCI Asif Nisar, Vice President KCCI Muhammad Younus Soomro, Chairman Special Committee for My Karachi Exhibition, Muhammad Idrees and KCCI Managing Committee members accompanied the

British Parliamentarians during their tour to different stalls at the Expo Center. Rehman Chishti, who is also the Chairman of British Parliamentary Committee on Pakistan, said that the reality about Pakistan was totally different as compared to its perception. “Karachi is safe and the people of Karachi are great”, he added. He informed that the British

Prime Minister will soon be visiting Pakistan within the next few months whereas the British Trade Minister will also be visiting this country within the next couple of weeks. “British Foreign Minister and Home Minister have already visited Pakistan and our Prime Minister will also be arriving here as it is our desire to further deepen the existing relations between both countries”,

cpEc to allow pakistan to become hub of socioeconomic activity: Ahsan

ISLAMABAD

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inister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has said that China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) would allow Pakistan to become a hub of socioeconomic activity between Asia, Central Asia and South Asia. He was addressing the 1st All Pakistan Chambers and Associations Seminar on CPEC held at Gawadar, Baluchistan, said a press release issued here. The seminar was attended by all the business and commerce chambers of Pakistan, government ofPicials, local community and other major stakeholders. The minister noted that CPEC was a fusion of China’s vision of “One Belt and One

Road” and Pakistan’s Vision 2025. The minister remarked that CPEC would not only benePit Pakistan and China but would also benePit the entire region and beyond. He apprised the audience that inter and intra region connectivity provided by CPEC makes it a fate changer for everyone because connectivity ensures greater trade, socioeconomic activity and general welfare. Ahsan informed that CPEC project would result in breaking the two bottlenecks faced by Pakistan’s economy, lack of infrastructure and energy shortage. He termed infrastructure and energy as the two essential pre-requisites of development and questioned the knowledge of critics who object to infrastructure investments in CPEC. He further explained CPEC by breaking it down into four com-

ponents as infrastructure projects, energy projects, Gawadar Port and industrial and economic zones. The minister stated that historical investments were made in infrastructure which had led to upcountry connectivity of Gawadar for the Pirst time. He praised the sacriPice of 44 FWO soldiers who gave their lives but did not allow the negative forces to sabotage the infrastructure projects in Balochistan. Energy mix adopted under CPEC was diverse and would produce economical and affordable energy, he noted. Neglected coal reserves, renewable energy, hydel and other sources of energy were explored under CPEC. Ahsan categorically squashed all noises suggesting that CPEC would lead to a loss of domestic business or employment.

he said, adding that UK wants to improve and maximize its trade and investment with Pakistan. Rehman Chishti noted that around 1.1 million British Pakistanis are inhabiting in UK who are contributing at every level. “It is our willingness to engage these British Pakistanis in promoting trade and investment between the two countries”, he added.

pakistan a land of opportunity: uK delegation he head of the visiting seven-member British Parliamentary delegation, Rehman Chishti MP, while terming Pakistan as ‘land of opportunities’, said that the country has huge potential as there are plenty of business opportunities in Pakistan, particularly in Karachi, that was the basic reason UK parliamentarians are keen to strengthen and deepen relations with Pakistan. ‘We are here in Pakistan and Karachi as we believe that Pakistan’s economy is going to become the 20th largest economy of the world by 2030 because of good governance and infrastructure’, he added while visiting on the second day of 14th My Karachi-Oasis of Harmony Exhibition at Expo Center on Saturday, says a statement of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).

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Superintendent Javed granted 365-day leave before retirement ISLAMABAD: Syed Javed Hussain Sherazi, a Pakistan Customs Service officer of BS-17, has been granted 365-day leave before retirement. The officer, presently posted as Superintendent at Model Customs Collectorate, Faisalabad, has been granted leave preparatory to retirement with effect from May 10, 2017. After expiry of LPR, the officer will stand retired from the government service on May 9, 2018.

Wednesday April 26, 2017

Islamabad Shoukat Ali takes charge as Addl collector preventive ISLAMABAD

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chief (pAc-customs) Zahid’s performance allowance resorted P

ISLAMABAD

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houkat Ali, a Pakistan Customs Service officer of BS-19, has assumed charge as Additional Collector (Preventive) in Karachi. The officer, in pursuance of Board’s Notification No.0905-C-II/2017 dated 16.03.2017, relinquished the charge of the post of Additional Director, Directorate of Input Output Co-efficient Organisation (North), Lahore with effect from March 27 and took the charge of the post of Additional Collector, Model Customs Collectorate (Preventive), Karachi on April 3. Meanwhile, Dr Kamal Azhar Minhas, a Pakistan Customs Service officer of BS-20, has been relieved with immediate effect. The officer, transferred/posted vide Board’s Notification No.1078-C-I/2017 dated 31.03.2017, has been relieved to join his new place of posting.

Shahid, tanveer made Members at Appellate tribunals gha Shahid Majeed and Syed Tanveer Ahmad have been appointed Members Technical at the disposal of Ministry of Law and Justice. The services of Agha Shahid and Syed Tanveer, BS-20 oﬃcers of Pakistan Customs Service, have been placed as Members Technical in pursuance of Ministry of Law and Justice, Islamabad’s Notifications No.2(9)/2015-A.IV dated 05.04.2017. Agha Shahid Majeed has been transferred from the post of Collector, Model Customs Collectorate, Hyderabad and posted as Member Technical, Customs Appellate Tribunal, Peshawar. Syed Tanveer Ahmad has been transferred from the post of Chief, FBR (HQ), Islamabad.

erformance allowance in respect of Zahid Ali Baig, a Pakistan Customs Service officer of BS-17, has been restored. The performance allowance (equivalent to 100 per cent of basic pay) in respect of the officer, presently posted as Chief (PACCustoms) at Federal Board of Revenue (HQ), Islamabad, has been restored with effect from February 27. Meanwhile, Muhammad Arshad, an Accounts officer of BS-18, has been repatriated to his parent department with immediate effect. The officer, presently posted as Second Secretary, (Project Finance) at Federal Board of Revenue (HQ), has been repatriated to

his parent department with immediate effect in pursuance of the Of-

fice of the Controller General of Accounts, Islamabad’s Notification

No. 801/CGA/Estt/AAO/14C/2009, dated 21.12.2016.

ASo seizes goods valued rs 15.1 million T

FAISALABAD

NAEEM SHEIKH

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he Customs Anti-Smuggling Organization seized miscellaneous goods worth Rs15.1million in different operations during third week of April of Fiscal Year 217-18. Sources told Customs Today that under the supervision of Deputy Collector Muhammad Rizwan, the ASO team conducted various raids against the smugglers to curb the illegal business. The ASO team, participating in these seizure operations, consisted of Superintendent Dilawar Hussain, Inspector Khalid Ashraf Noor, Inspector Ali Zahid, Inspector Khalid Mehmood Dogar, Sepoys Muhammad Ashraf, Liaqat Ali, Israr Ahmad and Muhammad Abdullah. The ASO team impounded three offending vehicles under section (U/S 157) worth Rs03.1million, auto parts worth Rs456759 and other miscellaneous goods (13193-kg) worth

Rs01.8million. The ASO seized items with section contravened of Import

and Export Control Act-1950 punishable under Section 156(i) 89(i) and 90 of the Custom Act-

1969 and forwarded the cases to the Customs Adjudication further proceeding.

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SHC Appellate Bench hears dozens of appeals in duty exemption cases KARACHI: Sindh High Court (SHC) Tuesday heard dozens of appeals filed by Pakistan Customs against different importers. The SHC Appellate Bench, comprising Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi and Justice Nazar Akbar, also adjourned hearing of two cases pertaining to import of cotton and generators till April 27. The Appellant Department filing the appeals through Masooda Siraj and Kashif Nazeer Advocates challenge maintainability of the suits and that whether the plaintiffs are entitled to exemption from duties and taxes on import of generators in terms of Schedule V of the Customs Act 1969 read with Section VI of Sales Tax Act, 1990.

customs fines to LED lights importer on tax evasion KARACHI

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ustoms Adjudication Collector Asif Marghoob Siddiqui has penalized LED lights and SMD lights importer for claiming inadmissible concessions with an intention to evade government legitimate revenue. According to the facts of the case as reported by Directorate of Post Clearance Audit, M/s Electric Lighting Agencies imported a consignment declared to be assorted LED panel lights with fittings and parts, LED strip light and declared PCT 9405.1090 through MCC Appraisement West. They claimed the exemptions only available to SMD, LEDs with or without ballast with fittings and fixtures for promotion of the renewable energy technologies. The examination staﬀ in their examination report did not

confirm that the imported LED lights are for solar or wind energy use. It appears from the examination report that the imported items are for general use as these are operative under alternating current (AC), which is the normal power source produced and used in Pakistan’s national grid. It was established beyond doubt that the imported goods are not meant to work with the renewable energy sources like wind and solar. Therefore, the claimed concessions are not available to the subject imports. An amount of Rs3.018 million was evaded by M/s electric Lighting Agencies on account of customs duty, regulatory duty, sales tax, additional sales tax and withholding income tax. After detailed deliberation, Collector Adjudication Asif Marghoob Siddiqui held the allegations established and noted the imports of LED lights and SMD lights without fittings and fixtures are not entitled to the claimed exemptions of duty and taxes.

Karachi

SHc bars tax authorities from attaching bank accounts of M/s Ahsan Enterprises T

M B rANA

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abilities regularly, however, a show cause notice was issued under section 11 (2) alleging to claim an inadmissible input tax on purchase pertaining to tax period November 2009 and Feb 2010. Being aggrieved he Piled an appeal before the appellate tribunal along with stay application, which is pending for disposal, however, respondent issued show cause notice for unlawfully at-

tachment the various bank amounts of the petitioner. Citing Chairman Federal Board of Revenue, Commissioner Inland Revenue Zone-II Regional Tax OfPice-II, Assistant Commissioner Inland Revenue Unit-III Region D, Zone-II RTO-III Karachi and other as respondents, petitioner pleaded the court may restrain the respondents form enforce recovery and attachment of bank accounts.

ASo seizes 500 liter Iranian origin diesel

KARACHI

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ustoms Intelligence and Investigation (I&I) Anti-Smuggling Organization (ASO) has seized a huge quantity of smuggled diesel. According to the details, the ofPicer of an ASO team, on the tip off, conducted an operation near Super Highway. During the checking of heavy vehicles at Bahria Town near the grand mosque, the team signaled a tanker driver to stop, but he tried to Plee from the scene. However, the ofPicial chased the tanker and forced the driver to stop it. During checking, the team recovered

SHc orders ASo to produce confiscated oil tanker on 20th KARACHI

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he Sindh High Court has ordered the Customs’ Anti-Smuggling Organisation (ASO) to produce a confiscated oil tanker before the court. The SHC appellate bench, comprising Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Arshad Hussain Khan, was hearing a petition filed by Ehsanullah, owner of the oil tanker, represented by Dil Khurram Shaheen advocate. The petitioner submitted that on September 20, 2015, the ASO conducted an operation on Super Highway during which petrol pumps, storages, dispensers were searched. The vehicle of the petitioner was also taken into custody on charge of being laden with smuggled HSD. The counsel for petitioner submitted that owner produced purchase documents issued by the BYCO company but still it was detained and not being released. Masooda Siraj and Rashid Arfi advocates, appearing on behalf of the ASO, said that driver available with the vehicle fled away during raid and only later the documents of purchase were produced.

KARACHI

he Sindh High Court (SHC) has restrained the tax department from taking any coercive action against Muhammad Ahsan, proprietor of M/s Ahsan Enterprises. The court ordered this on a constitutional petition Piled by Muhammad Ahsan, against attachment of its bank accounts for impugned demand. While the hearing of petition, a two-member bench, headed by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi also issued notices to the tax department and deputy attorney, directing them to Pile their respective comments on the next date of hearing. During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner stated that in the absence of any lawful demand in existence pursuant to order passed by CIR Appeals-II Karachi on July 25, 2014, whereby, matter was remanded to the departmental authority to decide the matter afresh, the respondents issued notice to the bank of the petitioner for attachment of his accounts. The counsel argued that the petitioner is engaged in the business of import and export and paying all li-

Wednesday April 26, 2017

4,500 liter of diesel from the vehicle worth thousands of rupees. A case has been registered against the culprits and further investigation is underway to apprehend the mastermind involved in the crime. Sources informed Customs Today that the recovered diesel is Iranian origin which was being smuggled through Gwadar route. Meanwhile, Pakistan Customs has expedited its efforts against the movement of smuggled goods, and in several operations worth millions of rupees were seized. The inPlux of smuggled goods has surged after the Pakistan-Afghanistan border was opened. InPlux of smuggled goods has multi-pronged impacts on the

country’s economy. On one hand the national exchequer is deprived of its legitimate revenue while on the other hand, local manufacturers and law-abiding importers come at a disadvantage. Moreover, money made from this dirty business fund anti-social and terrorist elements. Quite recently, Directorate of Customs Intelligence & Investigation seized large quantity if smuggled goods worth Rs92 million. MCC Islamabad seized large quantity of smuggled mobile phones worth Rs7.0 million and MCC Quetta confiscated used/old tyres valuing Rs1.25 million. On information of Mohammad Saleem Director I&I Peshawar, Directorate of

Intelligence and investigation Deputy Director Khayal Mohammad intercepted three trucks, with the assistance of Peshawar Police, near entry point of Motorway M1. The trucks were going to Lahore from Khyber agency. Peshawar Police has been quite efficient and honest. The seized goods include cigarettes, gutka, refrigeration gas, window ACs, mobile phones 6900 and welding rods valuing Rs92 millions and that of trucks is Rs9.0 million. This is the largest seizure of smuggled goods in recent history of the Directorate. Further investigation is underway to arrest the smuggling network operating in the region.

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Thai frozen chicken exports seems to grow Wednesday April 26, 2017

World

BANGKOK: The exports of Thai frozen chicken are likely to increase as demands in Europe and Japan grow. The Poultry Promotion Association of Thailand President, Chaweewan Khampana, revealed that exports of frozen and processed chicken have been on a rise during the ﬁrst 3 months of this year due to growing demands in Japan and European countries. The recent avian ﬂu outbreak in Japan has made domestic poultry unpopular among consumers as they turn to imported chicken. Meanwhile, Thai exporters have been told to be thorough about forward contracts with their foreign partners as Thai baht has remained strong against U.S. dollar for 20 consecutive months.

EAEu countries start ratifying Nampower, Eskom in r7 billion power deal customs code agreement WINDHOEK

MOSCOW

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ember countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are start-

philippines gDp growth up 7% in Q1 he Philippines’ chief economist expects the country’s gross domestic product to have expanded by about 7 percent in the first quarter on the back of sustained robust domestic demand and investment. Socio-economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said he hoped the GDP growth figure during the first threemonth period was “close to the midrange target for 2017”. The government targets GDP growth for the entire year to be within the range of 6.5-7.5 per cent, after last year’s 6.8-per cent expansion, which was among the fastest in Asia. Pernia, who heads the state planning agency National Economic and Development Authority, said first-quarter growth was driven by government spending on public goods and services, sustained investment flows and household consumption as well as “upbeat” business and consumer sentiment. –CB Report

ing to ratify the agreement on the Customs Code, BelTA learned from the press service of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC). The signing of the agreement on the EAEU Customs Code concluded on 11 April, the press service said. The member countries now proceed to the intrastate procedures leading

up to the ratiPication of the document. The new Customs Code will come into effect after the Eurasian Economic Commission is notiPied the agreement has been ratiPied by all the Pive member countries. The EAEU Customs Code is one of the main documents of the union’s regulatory framework. The fact that the customs regulation is carried out in line with the EAEU Customs Code is stipulated by the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty. It will replace the existing Customs Code of the Customs Union and international agreements on customs regulation, which were concluded in the early stages of economic integration – the Customs Union and the Single Economic Space. The EAEU Customs Code will increase the level of uniPication and harmonization of the customs regulation in the Eurasian Economic Union. “Now many processes will be automated,” Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission Tigran Sargsyan said.

china’s Ant financial raises oﬀer for Moneygram to $1.2 billion

hina’s Ant Financial has raised its offer for electronic payment firm MoneyGram International Inc and the deal was unanimously approved by the U.S. firm’s board, outbidding rival Euronet Worldwide Inc. Ant, the finance affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, increased its offer to $18 per share in cash from $13.25, and the transaction is valued at around $1.2 billion, a statement by Ant and MoneyGram

said. A successful deal would be the Ant’s first major step to expand its business overseas. Ant, valued at around $60 billion, is also planning an initial public offering. “MoneyGram will add valuable cross-border remittance capabilities to the Ant Financial ecosystem, serving our more than 630 million users globally,” Doug Feagin, President of Ant Financial International, said in the statement. –CB Report

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amibia’s power utility, NamPower, has signed a new power purchasing agreement with South Africa’s Eskom that would see NamPower forking out about R7.5 billion for Pive years. As part of the agreement, Eskom will serve NamPower with a Pirm supply of 200MW and additional non-Pirm supply dependent on transmission capacity. The new power supply deal was signed last week in Maseru, Lesotho, on the sidelines of the 42nd Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) Executive Committee meeting. The Pive-year deal does not have a Pixed payment but will depend on the energy consumed by NamPower from Eskom during the period of the agreement, which is estimated to be at least R1.5 billion yearly. It means NamPower will be buying electricity

according to the tariffs as set by National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), the equivalent of Electricity Control Board of Namibia (ECB). “Eskom tariffs are approved by NERSA and the approved tariffs will apply to all the customers of Eskom and NamPower is no exception,” NamPower’s Corporate Communications and Marketing OfPicer, Rosa Nikanor, told The Southern Times. Namibia imports about 60 percent of its electricity with about 40 percent of that estimated to come from South Africa. Last year, Namibia imported R3 billion worth of electricity from neighbouring countries, according to the energy ministry. The new agreement is also a one directional supply contract, which means NamPower cannot sell surplus to Eskom within the current deal. This is different from the previous agreement, which saw Namibia exporting up to 200MW of electricity to South Africa when the latter was experiencing load-shedding.

thai Q1 exports seen up 1-2% yoy hailand’s exports are expected to grow 1-2 percent in the Pirst quarter from a year earlier as global demand improves, a group of shipping Pirms said. Exports in March are expected to be stronger than in the previous month and close to those of last March, the Thai National Shippers Council said in a statement. Shipments were worth $18.47 billion in February this year and $19.12 billion in March 2016, customs data showed. In the JanuaryFebruary period, exports increased 2.5 percent from a year earlier. The council said it was sticking to

its export growth forecast of 2-3 percent in the whole of 2017. On Wednesday, the central bank raised its export outlook to a 2.2 percent rise this year from no growth. Exports, a traditional driver of Thai growth, rose slightly in 2016 after three years of contraction. Meanwhile, Thailand’s inPlation in March rose 0.76 per cent year on year, following a hike in fuel prices, resulting in combined inPlation in the Pirst quarter of the year of 1.25 per cent, according to the Commerce Ministry’s report. However, month on month inPlation decreased 0.46 per cent. –CB Report

Dutch tax oﬃce made advance deals with over 500 firms

AMSTERDAM

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he Dutch tax ofPice made separate tax rulings with 539 companies in 2016, down from 642 such deals in the previous year, junior Pinance minister Eric Wiebes has told parliament in answer to MPs’ questions. The tax ofPice has

made 4,413 advance rulings about tax obligations over the past seven years and the 2016 total is the lowest since 2010, the minister said. The tax rulings have been very controversial for years. Many companies, mostly multinationals, are given discounts on their taxes which make the Netherlands a more attractive location than many other European countries. Opponents

term them a means of tax avoidance. Wiebes has also agreed to exchange information about such rulings with other EU and OECD member states, the Financieele Dagblad said. Finance ministry ofPicials earlier said that making the rulings public would arouse angry reactions from many countries. Meanwhile, State Secretaries of Finance Joop Wijn (2004), Frans Weekers (2011) and

Eric Wiebes (2015) all agreed to make controversial tax deals with multinational corporations, and not tell other European countries about it, Trouw reports based on internal documents from the Ministry of Finance that were released last weeks. The documents show that Finanace ofPicials internally warned for years of the possible consequences of such agreements.

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Saudi Arabia bans live bird imports from Vietnam RIYADH: The Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has banned the import of live birds, hatching eggs and chicks temporarily from the Republic of Vietnam due to bird flu disease. A press statement by Director General of Department of Animal and Plant Quarantine Osama bin Abdullah Al-Saleh said on Sunday that the ban came due to the warning issued by the World Organization for Animal Health. He added that many cases of the bird flu disease were detected, pointing out that the ban will remain until it is confirmed that the disease has completely disappeared.

South Korea, turkmenistan hold talks on economic cooperation shgabat hosted a meeting of the Turkmenistan-South Korea intergovernmental commission on commercial, economic, scientific and technological cooperation, said the Turkmen Foreign Ministry in a message. The Turkmen side was headed by Deputy Prime Minister Maksat Babayev, the South Korean side – by Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Joo Hyunghwan. The meeting’s agenda included the issues of development of relations in the spheres of economy and trade, standardization and control of the financial system. The two sides also discussed the issues of cooperation in the areas of energy and hydrocarbon resources, construction, agriculture, healthcare, transportation and communication. As part of events, a business forum was held, which was attended by heads of such companies as Hyundai, LG, Samsung, Daewoo and others. A delegation from South Korea, including about 40 heads and specialists of financial exchange. –CB Report

World Customs

Wednesday April 26, 2017

thai police nabs thai police recovered 65kg heroin

bout 45 billion cigarettes were produced in Iran over the last fiscal year (March 2016-17), registering a 50% rise compared with the year before, the head of the Center for Tobacco Planning and Supervision said. “The output met close to 82% of domestic demand for cigarettes. Plans are to increase this figure to 90% by the end of the current year (March 20, 2018),” Ali Asghar Ramzi was also quoted as saying by the Persian daily Abrar-e-Eqtesadi. The oﬃcial added that 4 billion cigarettes were imported last year, down from 16.4 billion in the previous year, indicating a 76% drop. Smuggled cigarettes, says Ramzi, saw a 30% decrease from 8.6 billion cigarettes two years ago to 6 billion last year. –CB Report

eal estate trading during the first quarter of 2017 amounted to JD1.505 billion, 6 per cent lower than the JD1.604 billion recorded during the same period of 2016, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Wednesday. The Department of Lands and Survey (DLS) said that the north Amman land registration directorate ranked first with a trading volume amounting to JD307 million, followed by the Amman land registration directorate at JD210 million, followed by the west Amman land registration directorate at JD177 million and fourth came south Amman land registration directorate at a trading volume of JD156 million. Amman’s land registration directorates and the main centre acquired 72 per cent of the total trading with a total of JD1.87 billion. Revenues in the first quarter of this year stood at JD78.5 million, 5 per cent less than the JD82.7 million in the same period last year, Petra reported, adding that real estate sales to non-Jordanian investors in the first three months of 2017 stood at 632 transactions, 479 were for apartments and the rest for land, at an estimated value of JD88.7 million. Regarding nationalities, Iraqis ranked first in investment volume value, which stood at JD31.7 million, followed by the Saudis at JD30.5 million and the Lebanese at JD5.7 million. –CB Report

cigarette production up 50% last year

Jordan’s real estate trading reaches $2b in Q1 2017

BANGKOK

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hai police detained a Malaysian, following three days of surveillance, in connection with the seizure of 65 kilogram of heroin bound for Penang. The heroin was found inside a car the suspect and his Thai accomplice were travelling in, at the Nakhon Si Thammarat province. A police team which inter-

cepted the duo in the Tham Pannara district also stumbled on 300,000 Yaba pills found hidden inside the vehicle. “The suspects intended to ferry the drugs to Hatyai and then to Satun in southern Thailand, before smuggling the drugs to its final destination in Penang,” Tham Pannara police chief Col Prawit Kheisawai said. He said the Malaysian man, who was from Penang, had a Thai wife who lived in the Satun province. Prawit said police received a tipoff on today’s drug smuggling attempt using the southern route

and waited at the pre-determined location for three days. “After waiting for three days, police swung into action when the car finally emerged, seizing the heroin which was packed in five bags,” he said, adding that the duo confessed they were paid to transport the drugs from Ayutthaya to Hatyai. The duo had picked up the drugs from Ayutthaya in central Thailand, said Prawit. He said the seized heroin carried the popular “Double UO Globe” logo, a logo long associated with notorious drug syndicates in Laos.

B’desh, India industrial bodies to boost trade

NEW DELHI

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eading industry bodies of India and Bangladesh, the FICCI and the FBCCI, brought out a six-point agenda to boost trade and investment between both the neighboring nations. This included setting up a Joint Task Force on Tariff and Non-Tariff Barriers and another Joint Task Force to promote Indian investments in Bangladesh in the focus ar-

eas of infrastructure, education, healthcare, power and tourism. The agenda also included connectivity initiatives for expansion of sub-regional cooperation among BBIN (Bhutan-Bangladesh- India-Nepal) countries to cover links through road, rail, rivers, sea, transmission lines, petroleum pipelines and digital, a FICCI statement said. In addition, it included pursuing joint investments and a road-map for cooperation in the Bay of Bengal in exploration of hydrocarbons, marine resources, deep sea Pishing,

preservation of marine ecology and disaster management. It also included collaboration in knowledge sharing to facilitate innovation and research and forming a partnership on skill development. The agenda was released on the occasion of the visit of Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. The FICCI statement said B2B meetings were held with the high-powered Bangladeshi business delegation accompanying the Prime Minister. The delegation comprised businessmen representing sectors such as auto-

mobiles, cement, insurance & banking, ready-made garments, shipping, IT/ITeS, food and beverages, jute, power, renewable energy, real estate, electronic & print media, packaging, poultry, education, health and pharma, chemicals and telecommunication, it added. Speaking at a FICCI seminar on ‘Doing Business with Bangladesh’, Veena Sikri, Former Ambassador of India to Bangladesh, said the areas surrounding India and Bangladesh border should be developed as zones of prosperity.

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DGTR to open newly-recruited AOs, VOs, IOs, inspectors’ training Wednesday April 26, 2017

Lahore

LAHORE: Directorate of General Training & Research (DGTR) will hold week long opening ceremony for training of appraising officers, valuation officers and inspectors of Customs Central Region at the Punjab University. The ceremony will be held at the Institute of Administrative Science inside the Punjab University. The training of the newly recruited inspectors, valuations officers and appraising officers will be held in collaboration with the Punjab University where they will be trained on various related course. On the occasion, Director General Training and Research Rubina Wasti will be the chief guest while Customs Central Region chief collector and collectors of the region will also participate in the inaugural ceremony.

customs tribunal sets aside oNo in 100-tola gold smuggling case

customs central region customs duty collection up 2 pc

LAHORE

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SAJID NAwAZ

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he Customs Appellate Tribunal set aside the Orderin-Original in a case of Collector of Customs (Appraisement), MCC, Customs House Lahore against Fakhra Rohi, a resident of Lahore. Justice Retired Malik Manzoor Hussain, Chairman Customs Appellate Tribunal, remarks in the judgement that there is no mala Pide show on the part of ASF Staff as they have immediately handed over the baggage and passenger concerned to the customs staff. The appeal is allowed, impugned order is set aside and the charge levelled in the showcause notice stands established. As per facts of the case, a lady passenger entered the Customs Hall car-

Anti Narcotics court awards 13 year imprisonment to two drug peddlers pecial Court of Anti Narcotics Lahore has jail imprisonment and cash penalty to two culprits who were involved in drugs selling. According to details accused Muhammad Khalid was arrested by the Anti Narcotics Force from Chah Meeran area of Lahore in drug smuggling. ANF recovered 14 kilograms of charas from his possession. ANF arrested him and registered a case against him. A team of ANF prosecution after completion of investigation presented a complete investigative challan against the accused before court where Anti Narcotics Court sentenced him 11 year jail imprisonment and 55 thousand cash penalty. 14 kilograms of charas was also recovered from his possession of the accused Muhammad Khalid. In another verdict Anti Narcotics Force uannounced two years and three months jail to accused Samundar Khan. –CB Report

rying one trolley baggage of purple color. During the inspection, she used objectionable language and was brought to the ofPice of deputy assistant collector of ASF. On the inspection, 10 biscuits of gold, 10 tola each one, were found in the trolley bag. The lady failed to produce any document of legal possession of the impounded gold seized under Section 17 of the Customs Act-1969. The adjudication proceeding culminated in the release of seized goods to the owner which was challenged before the Customs Appellate Tribunal on the grounds that the lady failed to produce documents regarding the lawful possession. The recipient denied allegations levelled by the complainant. After hearing the documents, Customs Appellate Tribunal set aside the order-in-original and accept the appeal filed by the department.

LAHORE

M HAYAt

ustoms central region has collected Rs32277 million customs duty (CD) during the nine month of Pinancial year 2016-17registering 2 percent growth against collection target of Rs 31563 during the period. As per details the Customs Appraisement Lahore collected Rs 18291 million during the Pirst nine months against the assigned target of Rs17965 million during the period under review. Similarly, Customs Preventive Lahore collected Rs 6143 million customs duty during the Pirst nine month of Pinancial year 2015-16 against target Rs 6701 million during the period. The Collectorate of Multan collected Rs5772 million during the period under review against the as-

signed target of Rs5723 million for the period. In the same way, the Collectorate of Customs Faisalabad collected Rs2069 million during the nine month of Pinancial year against the assigned target of Rs1172 million during the period. Overall the Central Region collected total customs duty from all the four Collectrate worth Rs32277

million against the assigned target of Rs31563 million during the sane period of previous FY 2016-17. In order to achieve Pinancial year targets Chief Collector of Customs Zeba Hai Azhar has instructed all the collectors of the four Collectoratres to work hard to achieve the targets given by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

fto adjourns one million refund case of customs tribunal hears 17 important cases he Customs Appellate Tri- mad Khalid Hussain versus DirecM/s Qurashi packages pvt against crto bunal’s Division Bench-II, torate of Intelligence and Investi-

he Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has adjourned the hearing of a case Piled by M/s Qurashi Packages Private Limited Lahore against the Corporate Regional Tax OfPice (CRTO) Lahore. FTO Mian Munawar Ghafoor heard the case in which counsel for appellant argued that the Corporate Regional Tax OfPice (CRTO) had failed to release the tax refund of more than one million since two years claimed by the company. He said the RTO collected excessive tax from M/s Qurashi

Packages Private Limited Lahore during the last two years. He approached the commissioner concerned many a time for issuance of refund but the CRTO ofPicials did not pay refund after the passage of a reasonable time. At the end, the company decided to approach the FTO seeking interference in this case. The counsel appealed the FTO advisor to direct the CRTO to clear the refund claims. The counsel further said the CRTO should refund the excess collection in the wake of taxes. –CB Report

comprising Judicial Member Omer Arshad Hakeem and Member Technical Imran Tariq and Single Bench-II comprising Judicial Member Omer Arshad Hakeem, heard 17 cases and adjourned all of them until the next hearing. The Customs Appellate Tribunal’s Single Bench-II adjourned the hearing of seven cases, including Bisma International versus customs Lahore, Directorate Post Clearance Audit (PCA) Lahore versus F.G Trading, Customs Multan versus Muhammad Idrees, Muham-

gation Multan, Muhammad Shafiq versus directorate Multan Unit Sadiqabad, Sajjid versus Customs Lahore and JP Construction versus Customs Lahore. The Division Bench-II heard 10 cases including Sadiq Muhammad versus Customs Lahore, Tahir Rauf versus Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation Faisalabad, Zulfiqar Pathan versus Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation Lahore, Ishtiaq Ahmed versus Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation Multan. –M Imran Mehar

pcA summons M/s rayyans traders in duty, tax evasion case

D LAHORE

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Directorate of Customs Post Clarence has summoned M/s Rayyans Traders, Peshawar, in duty and tax evasion in the import of tarpaulin. According to the details, the PCA Lahore observed that the im-

port clearances data against HS Code 6306.1210 effected from various Model Customs Collectorate during the calendar years 2012 and 2013 revealed that inadmissible concessions of sales tax and value added sales tax under the SRO (1125)/2011 dated 31.12.2011, were wrongfully availed on the import of tarpaulin i.e. sun shedding which is specif-

ically excluded from the ambit of the said SRO and hence was not entitled for such benefit under the said SRO. It has been observed that importer had imported various consignments consisting of tarpaulin and got those cleared under PCT heading 6306.1210 with inadmissible concession under SRO 1125(I/201 1, dated 31.12.2011.

Hence, it was said that the importers have short paid an amount of Rs254132 sales tax, additional sales tax and income tax due to wrongful, concession under the SRO I 125(D/2011 dated 31.12.2011.The importer was asked to pay the above mentioned short paid amount of duty/ taxes within 10 days of receipt of this letter positively.

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Port of Hueneme celebrates 25 years WASHINGTON: The Port of Hueneme celebrates 25 years as a U.S. Port of Entry this year. From the time of designation in 1992, the Port and its customers have grown into a recognized revenue source of national importance with cargo volumes more than tripling over the past 25 years from 478,384 tons in 1992 to almost 1.5 million tons today.The Port of Hueneme is Ventura County’s gateway to the world, providing opportunity for connections to global businesses and markets and signiﬁcantly contributing to the economic health of Ventura County and Southern California. Over $9 billion in cargo is moved through the port annually, generating $1.5 billion in economic activity and $93 million paid in annual taxes that fund vital community services.

Humber ports invest £50m in bet on rising Brexit traﬃc he owner of Britain’s busiest port complex is investing £50m to expand as it bets on an increase in UK trade following Brexit. ABP will double the capacity of two container terminals on the Humber at Hull and Immingham, in northern England, after a 41 per cent growth in volumes since 2013. The UK’s largest port operator is buying four new cranes for Hull to increase terminal capacity to 250,000 twenty foot equivalent units (teu) per year, the standard measurement of container. Immingham will be enlarged and have new equipment to bring capacity to 300,000 teu. Together, those ports handled almost 262,000 teu last year. “We have seen significant growth at our Humber container terminals in recent years and all the in-

dications are that this will continue despite Brexit,” said ABP Humber director Simon Bird, calling the investments “a huge vote of confidence in the economy of the north of England at this crucial time”. ABP has two other ports on the Humber Grimsby and Goole making it the country’s largest port complex by volume, accounting for roughly 13 per cent of Britain’s seaborne trade. The UK’s container freight traﬃc has been sluggish, growing just 1 per cent last year to 23.8m units last year, including vehicles. But ABP is betting it will increase. It has committed to £1bn of investment across its 21 British ports over the next five years. It has already spent £50m on a car handling terminal in Southampton, mainly for export of British made vehicles, since the referendum. –CB Report

Ports & Shipping

Wednesday April 26, 2017

Shipping activity china Merchant port 2016 at port Qasim profits up 14% to $707 million T BEIJING

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hina Merchants Port Holdings saw 2016 net proPit rise 14% to HKD5.49bn ($706.5m) on gains in both container and bulk terminal volumes. Revenue from the group’s core ports operation rose 14% to HKD24.51bn and generated a pre-tax proPit of HKD11.54bn, up 9% year-on-year China Merchants Ports said in a press release. The group’s ports posted record-high container throughput of 95.8m teu up 15% from 2015, while bulk cargo throughput rose 30% to 460m tonnes. The group’s Mainland China ports still contributed the bulk of volumes with container throughput of 71.9m teu, an increase of 17.0% year-on-year, which was mainly driven by the additional contribution from a new equity investment in Dalian Port (PDA) Company earlier in the year. China Merchants Port’s operations

in Hong Kong and Taiwan saw container throughput grow 12% to 6.9m teu. Meanwhile the group’s international operations benePited from the ramp up at Colombo International Container Terminals and the additional contribution from Kumport Liman Hizmetleri ve Lojistik Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi in Turkey. Total container throughput handled by

the group’s overseas ports grew by 5.7% year-on-year to 17.0m teu. The group’s Mainland China ports handled bulk cargo volume of 453m tonnes, making up the majority of its total bulk cargo volume of 460m tonnes. And overseas ports such as Port de Djibouti in Djibouti contributed a bulk cargo volume of 6.5m tonnes, an increase of 26% year-on-year.

wo ships NYK Furano and Bottiglieri Ambition carrying containers and Canola Seeds were allotted berths at Qasim International Container Terminal and Grain and Fertilizer Terminal respectively on Sunday. Meanwhile two more ships `Jazan’ and `Aeo Los’ with Containers and Coal also arrived at outer anchorage of Port Qasim (PQ) during last 24 hours. Berth occupancy was observed at the Port at sixty seven percent on Sunday where a total of ten ships namely, NYK Furano, MSC Alice, TG Poseidon, Ikan Senyur, Shi Zhi Shan, Bottiglieri Ambition, Umm Bab, Gas Chem Adriatic, Bunga Angelica and Brizo were occupied at PQA berth to load/oﬄoad Containers, Coal Canola Seeds, LNG, LPG, Palm oil and Furnace oil respectively during last 24 hours. Cargo through put during last 24 hours stood at 142,484 tonnes, comprising 95,003 tonnes import cargo and 47,481 tonnes export cargo inclusive of containerized cargo carried in 3,433 Containers (TUEs) 934 imports TUEs and 1,900 TUEs exports) was handled at the port. Two Container ships, NYK Furano and TG Poseidon and Bulk cargo carrier Shi Zi Shan sailed out to sea on Monday. –CB Report

MMc to fully own penang port M

WASHINGTON

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MC Corp Bhd has proposed to acquire the remaining 51% equity interest in Penang Port Sdn Bhd from Seaport Terminal (Johore) Sdn Bhd for RM220 million cash. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, MMC said its wholly owned subsidiary MMC Port Holdings Sdn Bhd has entered into a conditional share sale and purchase agreement with Seaport Terminal. MMC said the proposed acquisition would enable it to be in full control of Penang Port and be in the position to determine its future strategic direction, which is in line with its initiative to make further strategic investments in ports and logistics. The proposed acquisition will also aid the group in its effort to maintain its position as a key player

in the ports industry. To date, MMC operates three major ports namely Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Johor Port and Northport. Note that the group is in the process of acquiring 70% ordinary equity interest in KMB Seaport, a company that holds a port operating licence to operate Tanjung Bruas Port in Malacca. The purchase consideration takes into account the valuation of estimated range of fair market values of Penang Port between RM327.4 million and RM490.1 million as appraised by Deloitte Corporate Advisory Services Sdn Bhd. The valuation is arrived at on the basis of Penang Port having completed the disposal of its ferry business at the time of completion of the proposed acquisition, which will be funded via internally generated funds and/or bank borrowings. The proposed acquisition is expected to be completed by Octo-

ber 2017 and contribute positively to the future earnings of the group for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2017. It is subject to approvals from MMC shareholders, Public Private Partnership Unit, Penang Port Commission, lenders of Penang Port and any other relevant authorities. MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd has been appointed as the independent adviser to advise the board and non-interested shareholders of MMC. Meanwhile, The ports of Seattle and Tacoma, Wash. merged most operations in 2015. The nation’s busiest ports, in Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., are sharing more data since severe congestion brought operations to a near halt along the West Coast two years ago. The deals are a response to unprecedented consolidation in the shipping industry. The world’s top ocean carriers have formed three

alliances that went into operation at the start of this month and will control 90% of shipments on major global trade routes. They plan to save money by packing more cargo on larger ships that make fewer stops. Many ports, fearful that they would be left out of shipping routes, are investing billions of dollars to dredge deeper harbors and install bigger cranes to handle the new class of megaships. Consolidation among U.S. ports is the logical next step, experts say. “The shipping alliances have all the power,” said Geraldine Knatz, who was executive director of the Port of Los Angeles until January 2014 and is now a professor at the University of Southern California. “We’ve got to stop fighting against each other, and try instead to build some leverage.” Still, many secondary ports are investing heavily to stay competitive.

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Quetta Customs I&I foils smuggling attempts, seizes items worth Rs1m KARACHI: The directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation (I&I) Quetta foiled smuggling attempts and recovered luxury tyres and computer accessories in two different operations. According to details, Collector Customs I&I Dr. Saeed Khan Jadoon received a tip-off regarding transportation of smuggled goods. He immediately called up customs I&I team to curb the smuggling attempt. The team, under the supervision of Deputy Collector Safdar Ali, started searching vehicles at exit points of Nokandi.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

CUSTOMS BULLETIN

Dg Valuation revises customs values of ethyl hexanol & phthalic anhydrite KARACHI cuStoMS BuLLEtIN rEport www.customsbulletin.com

he Directorate General of Customs Valuation has revised the customs value of ethyl hexanol/octanol and phthalic anhydrite through Valuation Ruling No 1125/2017 under Section 25-A of the Customs Act, 1969. According to the details, the customs value of phthalic anhydrate was earlier determined vide VDB No.235/2017 dated, 06.03.2017. Representations were received from commercial importers, for determination of customs value of 2- ethyl hexanol/octanol and phthalic anhydrate afresh. Meeting with all the stakeholders including importers, local manufacturers, Pakistan Chemicals and Dyes Merchants Association (PCDMA) and representatives from clearance Collectorates, was held on 10.04.2017 and 11.04.2017 to discuss the current international prices of the subject chemicals. Stakeholders were contesting that the prices of different chemicals Pluctuate regularly in the international market and that Pluctuation can be monitored/regulated through prices quoted in ICIS Scan internationally.

Hence they requested that the both chemicals, whose prices are available in ICIS Scan, may be linked with

the ICIS scan prices for fair treatment to the trade in accordance with international market prices, as

is being done in case of plastic raw material on scan prices, iron and steel products on London Metal Bul-

letin prices and so many other items on the prices quoted in reputed international bulletins.

faisalabad ASo seizes huge quantity of smuggled cloth FAISALABAD

NAEEM SHEIKH

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he Customs Anti Smuggling Organization (ASO) has seized 240 kilogram of smuggled cloth worth Rs2 million involving duty and taxes amounting to Rs58200 in an action. Sources told Customs Today following information received through Deputy Collector Muhammad

Rizwan regarding huge quantity of non duty paid cloth lying at Hakeem Goods and Company Jhang Road Faisalabad. Superintendent Saeed Joiya constituted a raiding team comprising Inspectors Khalid Ashraf Noor, Mahmood Ahmad Dogar, Ali Zahid, sepoys Muhammad Ashraf, Muhammad Naeem, Muhammad Yaseen, Liaqat Ali and Muhammad Ashraf. The ASO team raided at Azad Hakeem Goods company stand and asked Noor Khan son of Barkat Ali to show documents

regarding legal import of the cloth. But he could not produce any documents in respect of the cloth. Therefore, the officials confiscated the items under the customs laws. A case has been registered against accused person of the seized cloth. The case was forwarded to the Customs Adjudication for further legal action. Meanwhile, The Field Investigation Unit (FIU) of Anti Smuggling Organization (ASO) Sargodha impounded a foreign origin Toyota Crown car model 1981 bearing registration no:

ID- 4272. The market value of the seized vehicle is Rs12,00,000 involving customs duty and taxes to the tune of Rs6,16,440. Sources told to Customs Today that Collector Muhammad Muhammad Sadiq received information that some non duty paid vehicles are plying on roads. After receiving the information Deputy Collector Rizwan take necessary measures and formed a team comprising Superintendent Chaudhary Muhammad Sardar, Bashir Ahmed, Ansir Saleemi, Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad

Published by M S Raza OďŹ&#x20AC;# 42, 3rd Flr Gull Plaza M.A Road Karachi, Printed by Dhoom Printing Building No RY/A, 11/6,11/7, Mashoor Mahal,oďŹ&#x20AC; I.I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi

Mansha, Muhammad Abdullah, Muhammad Imran, Muhammad Ashraf, Muhammad Feroz (sepoys). The raiding team of ASO intercepted a vehicle near Khayam Chowk Sargodha. The team asked owner of the vehicle who was identified as Muhammad Safdar Ranjha son of Muhammad Rafique to provide legal documents regarding possession of the vehicle but he failed to provide the same. Upon his failure ASO team seized Toyota Crown car and registered a case against the accused person.