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Karachi, Wed March 15, 2017

ISLAMABAD

M FAIZAN

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ember Customs Zahid Khokhar has sought the report from relevant Customs authorities regarding the issue of importers complaints about blackmailing by few Customs ofTicials at R&D Port Qasim and directed them to resolve the issue at the earliest. It is pertinent to mention here that several incidents of blackmailing have been reported by importers against few Customs ofTicials deputed at R&D Port Qasim.

Importers are suffering due to the

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blackmailing of few black sheep in the Customs Department, especially Principal Appraiser Ibrahim Khan at R&D Port Qasim. According to FBR sources, Member Customs Zahid Khokhar has adopted very strict policy against corruption and he had already issued the orders that if any complaint received regarding corruption, the customs authority concerned will investigate the matter on priority basis and treat the guilty ofTicial as per relevant laws. While taking to Customs Today, the Member Customs said, “Corruption is an enemy of Pakistan and we want to eradicate this menace from Federal Board of Revenue and for this, we need public cooperation”.

‘No tax to be levied without previous publication of tax proposals’

Dry port earns Rs236.520m additional CD during eight months

SBP chief, heads of banks discuss key financial issues

All tax collecting agencies focusing on tax net instead of percentage: Aisha

DG Valuation issues reference values of Pentaerythritol 98% min & ice cream

No tax shall be levied without previous publication of the tax proposals | See pAge 02 |

Customs dry port Islamabad created difference of Rs 236.520 m from the target | See pAge 03 |

SBP Governor AshrafWathra discussed important issues facing the economy | See pAge 04 |

Aisha Ghaus Pasha said all the tax collecting agencies, including PRA | See pAge 14 |

DG of CustomsValuation issued the reference values Pentaerythritol 98 percent | See pAge 16 |

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KP for comprehensive strategy to get full benefit from CPEC projects Wednesday, March 15, 2017

National

PESHAWAR: Advisor to Chief Minister for Communication and Construction Akbar Ayub Khan on Monday directed all concerned provincial departments to chalk out comprehensive strategy to get maximum benefits from out of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. Presiding over a high level meeting here, he also directed the relevant departments to make all the CPEC projects as public welfare and get ready for the road show to be held in China in mid of April this year. The Advisor said that CPEC is a huge project of prosperity and development in Pakistan and pragmatic measures are needed to complete all the projects under this massive project through planning.

‘No tax to be levied without previous publication of tax proposals’

KARACHI

PESHAWAR

cuStoMS BuLLetIN report

IrFAN BAhADur

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ederal Board of Revenue (FBR) is imposing fine and penalties on taxpayers who are not replying to notices issued for production of documents and records. FBR sources said that large scale audit exercise had been launched by tax departments but most of taxpayers were not replying accordingly. Therefore, tax offices are imposing fine and penalties under Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. The Inland Revenue officers are invoking Section 182 to imposing fine and penalties for non-compliance with provisions of Section 177 of the Ordinance. In case a taxpayer fails to produce the record of documents on receipt of first notice then such person shall pay a penalty of twenty-five thousand rupees. In case a taxpayer fails to produce the record or documents on receipt of second notice then such person shall pay a penalty of fifty thousand rupees. Lastly in case a taxpayer fails to produce the record or documents on receipt of third notice such person shall pay a penalty of one hundred thousand rupees.

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o tax shall be levied without previous publication of the tax proposals, hearing to the public objections and approval of the respective local council. This was stated by Provincial Finance Minister Muzzafar Advocate on Tuesday in a meeting with the Provincial Finance Commission at Peshawar on the issue of tax collection by rural governments.

The rules laid down in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Local Government Act 2013 about Taxation and Tax collection encourages the ofTicials to generate more revenue through public property interests, he said. The local government can reduce, suspend or abolish a tax, so they are empowered to establish a procedure through which tax can be implemented and collected in a easy way through the local government, he added. He further said that the provincial government shall have powers to direct a local government to levy any tax, increase or reduce any such tax or the assessment thereof and suspend or abolish the levy of any tax in the best public interests. He said all the arrears of the taxes, rents and other moneys claimable by a local government under this act by distress and sale of the movable property belonging to the person concerned or by attach-

FBr imposes fine for noncompliance on audit notices

ment and sale of the immovable property belonging to them, must be paid to the government.

As the tax collected annually transferred to the provincial Tinance commission which in turn approves development schemes for the areas with addition to grants, he added. A model has been set by the provincial government which enables a local government ofTicial to site compounds, lands and shops to increase the tax resources of local governments by rents and taxes.

The scope of inland revenue to function Tinance commission through local government’s taxation and tax collection increases with advancement in check on cross border trade during the past years, he proclaimed.

The local government Tinance commission gives recommendation to the government on the amount of grant for local governments out of the consolidated fund in a Tinancial year in addition to the grant in lieu of Octroi and Zilla tax.

Provided that in addition to the establishment charges budgeted for the devolved functions and transfers in lieu of Octroi and Zilla taxes, the development grant for local governments shall be so determined that it is not less than 30 % of the total development budget of the province in the respective year; Provided that the development grant for village councils shall be determined on the basis of population and tax collected from the areas in intervals, he commented.

Dg Valuation revises customs value of tablets T

KARACHI

wAQAr AhMeD ANSArI www.customsbulletin.com

he Directorate General of Customs Valuation revised the customs value of tablets through Valuation Ruling No 1066/2017 under Section 25A of the Customs Act, 1969.

According to details, the Directorate General issued VDB values of different brands of tablets vide VDB letter No. 138 dated 30-12-

2016, VDB Nos.150, 151, 152 and 153 dated 06-01-2017 and VDB No.169 dated 24-01-2017. Meanwhile, the Directorate General also initiated an exercise for determination of customs values of tablets of different brands.

Sources said that a meeting with stakeholders was held on 28-022017. Importers were requested to furnish invoices of imports during last three months showing factual value, websites, names and E-mail addresses of known

foreign manufacturers of the item in question through which the actual current value can be ascertained, copies of contracts made/LCs opened during the last three months showing the value of item in question and copies of sales tax invoices issued during last four months showing the difference in price (excluding duty and taxes) to substantiate that the benefit of difference in price is passed on to the local buyers.

However, no documents were

submitted in the Directorate General on or before the said scheduled meeting.

The valuation methods given in Section 25 of the Customs Act, 1969 were followed to arrive at customs values of tablets. Thereafter, market inquiry as envisaged under section 25(7) of the Customs Act, 1969, was conducted.

For the purpose, different markets were surveyed repeatedly.

The computed value method as provided in Section 25(8) of the

Customs Act, 1969, could not be applied as the conversion costs from constituent material at the country of export were not available. Online values of subject goods were also obtained. All the information so gathered was evaluated and analyzed for the purpose of determination of customs values.

Consequently, the Customs values of tablets have been determined under Section 25(9) of the Customs Act, 1969.

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OPC offices in USA can promote foreign investment LAHORE: The Pakistan Consul General in New York Raja Ali Ejaz hosted a dinner in honour of the overseas businessmen in the USA. The meeting discussed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s upcoming visit to the USA and his meetings with the overseas Pakistanis.

Participants of the meeting stressed the need for granting voting rights to overseas Pakistanis and discussed its mechanism.

They said that the facility of online voting should be provided to 8 million new overseas Pakistanis. Services of Overseas Pakistanis Commission (OPC) were also appreciated at the meeting.

Faisalabad adjudication adjourns hearings of 59 cases in Feb

Wednesday March 15, 2017

National

Dry port earns rs236.520m additional customs duty in 8 months

FAISALABAD

NAeeM SheIkh

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he Collectorate of Customs Adjudication adjourned the hearing of 59 seizure cases worth Rs88.389million during the month of February 2017. Sources told Customs Today that Customs Adjudication Collector has adjourned the hearing of three cases worth Rs3.505million pertaining to the seizures of various items. These items include different brand of vehicles, Land Cruiser, Vitz car, ladies fabrics, children shoes, televisions, mobile phones and remotes.

The cases were registered by customs authorities. The collector directed the owners of the seized goods and their counsels to present their arguments in the next hearing.

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over rs482 billion released under pSDp ISLAMABAD

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he federal government had released over 482 billion rupees till 10th of this month under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). According to the Ministry of Planning and Development, 150 billion rupees have been released for different road projects while over 118 billion rupees to WAPDA during the period. Likewise, over twenty-four billion rupees have been provided for Railway projects and over seventeen billion rupees to Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission for its projects. During this period, about fifty-two billion rupees have been released for the Temporarily Displaced Persons. Over thirty billion rupees were given for Special Areas, including AJK, Gilgit-Baltistan, SAFRON and FATA for development purposes.

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ISLAMABAD

tArIQ DerYA

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he customs dry port Islamabad created difference of Rs 236.520 million from the target assigned for initial eight months (July to February FY201617) under the head of Customs Duty. The dry port collected Rs 2151.520 million during above said period against the assigned target of Rs 1915.00 million under the same head. According to Assistant Collector Amanat Khan while giving an exclusive interview to Customs Today, the dry port is proving friendly environment to business community because without friendly atmosphere no business can Tlourish. Collector Dr. Arslan has advised the administration of dry port to make fast process of GDs of importers so that they can bring their goods to market on time.

Answering a query, he said he is paying 100% focus on security of dry port and no vehicle or loaded trucker can enter the premises of dry port without proper checking and documentation.

Answering another question, he said the dry port collected Rs 274.561 million during February FY 16-17 the Customs Duty whereas dry port generated Rs 268.666 million during January the CD while dry port received Rs 270.00 million during the month of December FY16-17 and Rs 203.940 million was col-

lected during November FY2016-17 under the head of CD. During October FY2016-17, the dry port got Rs 197.188 million CD whereas during September dry port collected Rs 154.234 million. During the month of August, the dry port collected Rs 170.956 million. During the month of July FY2016-17, the dry port generated Rs 119.00 million Customs Duty.

Answering yet another question, Amanat said the dry port has

During the month of August, the dry port collected rs 170.956 million.

During the month of July FY2016-17, the dry port generated rs 119.00 million customs Duty

First meeting of cotton board held in Multan

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MULTAN

cuStoMS BuLLetIN report

www.customsbulletin.com he maiden meeting of Cotton Research and Development Board (CRDB) was held here at Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) on Monday to identify the problems faced during the process of research and development, and suggest the methods to address them. Director Cotton Punjab Dr Sagheer Ahmad, who is the secretary of the board, said

that the CRDB was set up to achieve the objective of higher cotton production through research and development and suggest ways to address farmers’ problems. Vice Chancellor Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture (MNSUA) Prof Dr Rao Asif Ali said that the university’s land was at the disposal of the cotton board to carry out research projects and develop model farms. He promised that the MNSUA researchers would extend full cooperation to agricul-

ture scientists in executing research projects. Director General (Research) Dr Abid Mahmood stressed the need for consulting all the stakeholders for a better crop.

He urged the board members to suggest initiatives to meet the objective.

The DG research said that the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department allows sale of seed after it is certified that the seed has germination strength of 75 per cent or above.

entertained 1832 dutiable goods declarations (GDs) during the first eight months (July to February FY2016-17).

Telling the details regarding the dutiable goods declarations (GDs), he said the dry port entertained 256 GDs during February whereas processed 212 GDs in January FY2016-17. During December, the dry port processed 237 GDs whereas 273 were processed during November Fy2016-17.

2nd int’l Lpg conference to be held on March he Liquefied Petroleum Gas Distributors Association of Pakistan (LPGDAP) will hold the second international conference on March 14 in Lahore for promotion of the LPG sector. “The day-long conference, being organised in collaboration with the South Asian Media Management, will help devise a roadmap to streamline the issues confronted by the LPG sector in consultation.

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OGDCL finds oil, gas in Hyderabad ISLAMABAD: The state-run Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDCL) has struck a new oil and gas discovery in an area of Hyderabad, Sindh, raising hopes of fresh hydrocarbon openings.

The discovery at exploratory well Chhutto-1 is the first hydrocarbon find in Bulri Shah Karim Tando Muhammad Khan in District Hyderabad.

Initial results encouraged the company to go for two more wells in the same licence areas, of which one well has already been marked for immediate drilling.

Wednesday March 15, 2017

Business

SBp chief, heads of banks discuss financial issues KARACHI

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tate Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra discussed important issues facing the economy and the Tinancial sector with presidents of commercial banks here on Monday.

Discussing key issues at the meeting such as trade-based money laundering, Wathra said it was a wellknown fact that trade transactions had the elements of under invoicing and over invoicing that facilitated transfer of value across the borders.

Primary responsibility in this regard lies with the Pakistan Customs. However, since documents are negotiated

‘cpec a regional opportunity’ LAHORE

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he China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has provided Pakistan and India an opportunity to get rid of their `bitter past’and start afresh, said Pak-India Business Council (PIBC) Chairman Noor Muhammad Kasuri. “CPEC is an opportunity of progress and prosperity for the whole region and it is up to the political leadership of various countries in the region how much benefit they want to avail from it,”he said.

Kasuri urged both countries to end the hostile environment for ensuring development and prosperity in the region.

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and L/Cs are settled through the formal banking sector, banks are required to enhance their capacity to process foreign trade transactions

with extreme care and diligence, he said. The other issue was banking services to unlicensed forex operators. He said that illegal forex opera-

tors might have accounts with banks through which they might be conducting illegal remittance business.

Banks are required to enhance their customer due diligence processes so that such relationships can be avoided. In this regard, banks should monitor the transaction patterns of their customers and report suspicious activities to the FMU, he said. The SBP governor said that banks should take the measures to minimise money laundering through banking channels.

They should implement an in-house system to detect differences between the values declared in the documents and prevailing market prices. In addition, banks need to set out escalation procedures to manage transactions where signiTicant differences in prices are identiTied and perform additional due diligence.

Secp grants authorization to float a new modaraba of rs300m T

ISLAMABAD

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he SECP has issued formal authorization to Habib Metropolitan Modaraba Management Company (Private) Limited (HMMMCPL), a wholly owned subsidiary company of Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited (HMBL), to Tloat another modaraba of Rs300 million under the name of “Habib Metro Modaraba”.

HMMMCPL is currently managing First Habib Modaraba, which is listed on the stock exchange, said

SECP press statement issued here Monday. The new modaraba will be a Tinancial service modaraba, focusing on providing car-Tinancing solutions to individuals and corporate customers based on residual value car Tinancing model.

It will also provide solar power solutions to its customers based on ijarah besides providing Tinances for generators, construction equipment, commercial and agricultural equipment etc. The initial paid-up fund of Habib Metro Modaraba will be Rs300 million, out of which modaraba certiTicates of Rs90 million will be sub-

scribed by HMMMCPL, HMBL and associates while remaining certiTicates worth Rs210 million shall be offered to the public. The certiTicates of the modaraba will be listed on the stock exchange. Earlier, in terms of Section 10 of the Modaraba Companies and Modaraba (Floatation and Control) Ordinance, 1980, the Religious Board for Modarabas in its 46th meeting held at the SECP head ofTice on February 21, 2017, had cleared and certiTied that the proposed business of the modaraba speciTied in its prospectus is not contrary to the injunctions of Islam.

Lucky cement setup plant to produce 10Mw power LAHORE

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ucky Cement Limited inaugurated its fifth Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) plant in Pezu, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa which will generate power up to 10 megawatts. The project, which utilised two cement production lines with a daily output of 2,400 tons, has been set up in collaboration with China’s Sinoma Energy Conservation Limited. Previously, the company established four WHR plants, two in Pezu and two in Karachi. The design of these plants is based around the idea of encapsulating all the wasted heat from the production system and using this heat to generate steam from boilers which eventually run the turbine engines, thus producing electricity. On the occasion, Lucky Cement Limited CEO Muhammad Ali Tabba said, “Our WHR plant has not only significantly reduced cost by co-generating electricity, it has also helped lower dust emissions and environmental effluents thus having a positive impact on the atmosphere.” He added that being one of Pakistan’s leading cement manufacturers, the company had the social and environmental responsibility to reduce its energy consumption.

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punjab tax authorities to keep eyes on incomes of beauty salons ISLAMABAD

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he Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) has announced that it is actively pressing on with efforts to add more services to the tax net in order to step up revenue col In a fresh move to keep a close watch on popular service providers, the provincial tax authority, in collaboration with the Punjab Infor-

mation Technology Board, has developed an invoice monitoring system for beauty parlours running in the province.

Though this sector has been among 61 services, identiTied by the tax authorities as potential taxpayers, for the past three years, the taxmen have not been very active in this area for a variety of reasons. lection across the province.PRA Additional Commissioner Shahzad Gondal recalled that the salons op-

erating in Lahore under the banner of Hair and Beauty Salons Association had been demanding reduction in sales tax for a long time.

“The lobby group had even Tiled a request, asking the PRA to consider reducing sales tax on beauty parlours from 16% to around 5%,” he said. After scores of meetings with industry representatives to Tind a workable solution, Gondal said, it was mutually agreed that the proposed tax reduction would only be

applicable to those salons that opted for the invoice monitoring system.

The system will be installed on business premises for monitoring sales invoices on a real-time basis.

“It is expected that the monitoring system will be inaugurated on April 10 this year,” he said. At present, only 287 beauty service providers are registered taxpayers, of which 209 are working in Lahore.

According to PRA estimates, approximately 2,000 hair and beauty

salons are currently running in the provincial capital. “These salons generate a reasonable income and will be registered with the PRA,” Gondal said. Apart from these, he added, hundreds of salons were operating in far-off areas of the city, but the PRA was not considering bringing them under the tax net as they did not earn much. From the 287 registered salons, the PRA receives Rs4-8 million in revenues annually, depending on seasonal activities.

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akistan is going to sign an agreement with Switzerland on March 21 on the exchange of information regarding bank accounts. Swiss authorities have agreed to provide information about Pakistani accounts in Swiss banks.

Several meetings were held with the Swiss authorities and now they have invited Pakistani ofTicials to sign the agreement. The Swiss government demanded Islamabad to lessen taxes in order to have access to the information.

After making this convention operational, it will be impossible to keep tax evasion money in these countries. Under the agreement, the government will be able to get information about banks accounts operated by Pakistanis in Switzerland.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, in a policy statement in the National Assembly, said Pakistan had already signed the Multilateral Convention on Tax Matters with Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on September 14, 2016 which was going to be operationalized next year.

He said Pakistan is the 104th member of the Organization. He said after the operationalization of this convention, it will be impossible to keep tax evasion money in these countries.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in his May 14, 2014, statement had informed the National Assembly that at least $200 billion of Pakistani money was stashed away in Swiss banks. The minister had told the house in a written reply that the government was engaging with Swiss authorities to get to the money, hidden away

by various Pakistani nationals.

Giving background, the minister said the process had started way back in 2013 when he had proposed to federal cabinet to allow the Tinance ministry to enter into a new agreement with Swiss authorities by revisiting the previous treaty of 2005 about minimum exchange of information.

He said initially the Swiss authorities had proposed strict conditions for such an agreement. But we continued deliberations with them that culminated in reaching an understanding for having an agreement.

He said over the period many media reports had surfaced that Pakistanis had $ 180 billion to $ 200 billion tax evaded money in Swiss banks and this situation called for approaching the Swiss government for a treaty of information exchange.

When he said the government approached the Swiss authorities they placed before us some strict conditions like reducing tax rates, giving them MFN status, reducing students’ accounts limit to $14500 from existing $18000.

But he explained that Pakistan continued persuading them not to go for such conditions as Tleeing with tax evaded money had become a practice by certain people in Pakistan. This process continued over previous years though Pakistan had also been trying to become part of OECD and Pakistan became member of this organization in Sept 2016. “Therefore after understanding that now Pakistan will automatically get this information, they have also offered us a new agreement and I shall be going there to sign this agreement on March 21 this year,” he

added. Dar said meanwhile our efforts continue for membership of the OECD and numerous of their groups visited Pakistan to evaluate our system whether it was properly tuned to get the information under the OECD convention. He said in July 2016 Pakistan had become a largely complying country for this convention and was offered membership that we signed on September 14, 2016.

ached a p p ro t n e vernm laced the go they p d i s a e i s t i r like or Da itions s auth s d i n w o S c t the MFN e stric s som g them u n i e v r i o g s bef ates, count g tax r nts ’ ac n e i c d u u t d s re 8000 ducing ing $1 e t r s i , x s e u stat 0 f ro m $1450 o t t i lim

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Wednesday, March 15, 2017

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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

Implications of money laundering

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ccording to a report released by International Narcotics Control Strategy of the US State Department, money laundering is a global phenomenon in which corrupt elements are involved not only from developed but also developing countries. It says that hundreds of billions of dollars are sneaked out of various countries every year through trade-based money laundering schemes and the illicit practice is especially rampant in China, Russia, Mexico and India.

The four countries have emerged as the top sources of illicit financial outflows in the world. The illegal money is mostly generated by avoidance of taxes, bribery and smuggling of narcotics and other contraband items. Pakistan also loses over $10 billion a year in trade based money laundering. At least 33 percent of the country’s population lives below the poverty line but various mafias have sprung up to collect money through illegal means and invest the same in offshore companies.

Taking advantage of the situation, many countries offer lucrative business and invest opportunities for corrupt elements one of which is United Arab Emirates where Indian and Pakistani officials and businessmen have invested billions of dollars in real estate sector. The report reveals that tradebased money laundering is the latest method which is being used to whiten the black money. The trade and the currency mafia are there to offer services to the corrupt elements to safely transfer and stash money abroad by dodging the cumbersome legal procedures and government agencies.

It is the dilemma of some developing countries that the governments have failed to set up financial institutions to regulate the money in a proper manner. India has emerged as the fourth largest source of illicit money in the world where the rural sector lacks formal financial institutions.

This resulted in the emergence of informal financing networks. A study by the Global Financial Integrity reveals that China loses $139 billion, Russia $104 billion, Mexico $52 billion, India $51 billion and Pakistan $10 billion annually. Despite the presence of US forces on the Afghan soil, the country is known as the largest opium producer and exporter in the world where corruption is not a myth but reality.

pakistan as 20th powerful economy I

LAHORE

Dr AFtAB AFZAL

www.customstoday.com

n a survey conducted by Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and global brand consultants BAV Consulting to assess the best countries in 2017, Pakistan has been projected as the 20th most powerful economy in the world and 74th in the category of overall top countries. The new global ranking of the best countries puts India at the 16th position and at 25th in overall best countries category. However, Pakistan is ranked 40th in terms of being an influential country and the last among 80 evaluated countries in education category. At

least 21,000 top businessmen, political elites and common citizens were consulted to assess the economic performance of various countries in which Switzerland emerged as the No 1 and the United States 7th after falling from 4th position it was holding last year. The United States has still been ranked as No1 in the category of most powerful nation, followed by Russia, China, the United Kingdom and Germany.

Under different heads, Pakistan is ranked 61th among the emerging economies, 59th in the entrepreneurship category, 75th in headquarters a corporation, 76th in transparency, 77th in quality of life, 78th in adventure and 79th in travel alone category.

The United States has shed its points in the areas of business, citizenship, adventure tourism, education, transparency and headquartering a corporation. At least 80 top countries are evaluated across a range of criteria, from economic development to their global perception. In Asian economies, Japan has moved up two points up to grab 5th position this year whereas China is ranked 20th among the overall best countries.

As regard to Pakistan, it is ahead of many regional economies under different heads but desperately needs political stability and financial management. The exports of the country have been falling, debt burden is rising and energy crisis still exist

despite the present government is near to complete its four years in the office. The government is still short of technocrats and policy advisers to leading the country to the next phase of the economic journey. Despite the fact that the world media has begun to realize the good performance of the Pakistan’s economy, it still has to go a long way to achieve the cherished goal of prosperity.

The nation is always in disagreement even on vital issues and far from reaching consensus on any point from politics to economy and security to foreign affairs.

However, the development process is gaining momentum and every citizens of the nation should work hard to keep this process in running mode.

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Turkey likely to grow over 4% in 2017 ANKARA: Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli has said he expects Turkey to grow more than 4 percent this year, after 3 percent last year, while the inflation rate will close the year at around 7.5 percent. “I am still hopeful about growth. Turkey’s 2016 growth rate will probably be announced at 3 percent. The data for the first quarter of 2017 will be much better. We have seen a strong recovery and we expect growth of nearly 3.5 percent in the first three months of this year,” Canikli said, as quoted by Reuters. Turkey’s 2016 growth figure will be announced in late March, according to the official statistics calendar. The government’s Medium-Term Economic Program forecasts 3.2 percent GDP growth in 2016 and 4.4 percent in 2017. “Growth will come in at over 4 percent in 2017. One of the main indicators showing this is employment data,” said Canikli, claiming that more than 300,000 new jobs were created after a country-wide employment stimulation campaign was started in early February.

FccI seeks ways to improve trade in puducherry NEW DELHI

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n eight-member delegation of the French Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) visited Puducherry, India to explore ways to improve trade.

The delegation of FCCI, a non-profitable bilateral business community which aims to foster and promote mutually beneficial relations between India and France, interacted with business community here. They also called on the Chief Secretary to understand the investment potential in the Union Territory. “The objective of the visit is to showcase the strong business potential that India has

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to offer so as to encourage French companies to set shop here thereby fostering the already strong business ties between both countries,” said Payal S. Kanwar, Secretary General, Indo French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in a communication. Christophe Duday, who is heading the delegation, said the French companies are keen to make investment after seeing the growth potential of India. “India is the fastest growing economy. We, in France, believe it’s India’s time and we have seen a momentum in trade between France and India,” he said.

The companies in France, he said, a few years ago, were keen to do business in countries such as Russia, Brazil and China. In the last two years, the investment trend had shifted to India, he added. The demonetization of the higher denomination currency notes would certainly push the economy further in the long run, he said. French companies have generated curiosity in Indian government’s Smart city project. The FCCI would organise a seminar on the Smart City project in Paris on March 21, he said.

Wednesday March 15, 2017

Chambers

'pakistan to be next destination for Japanese investors’ K

ISLAMABAD

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atsunori Ashida, First Secretary (Head of Public Affairs/Cultural Affairs), Embassy of Japan said that Pakistan could be the next destination for Japanese investors due to its low labor cost and potential market for business. He said this while exchanging views with business community during his visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

He said Japanese investors doing business in Pakistan were quite satisTied and more Japanese investors could come to Pakistan if the security situation was further improved.

About free trade agreement between Pakistan and Japan, he said that FTA should be equally beneTicial for both countries and should not give undue advantage to any one party. He said that Japan was ready to participate in CPEC if it proved beneTicial for both Pakistan and Japan. He said that Pakistani mangoes were getting popular in Japan and added that Pakistani businessmen should study the Japanese market to get better penetration in it.

Katsunori Ashida that Japanese government would provide a grant of Rs453 million for installing a ‘face recognition system’ at major international airports in Pakistan to improve security situation. He said that preparations were underway to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Pak-Japan diplomatic relations and many programs were being planned for this purpose. He said visit of Japanese students to Pakistan was being planned

with their stay for few days in a Pakistani home so that they could get the better feel of Pakistani culture. Speaking at the occasion, Khalid Malik, Senior Vice President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that both countries were enjoying good political relations that should be translated into growing trade and economic relations. He said that many Japanese companies were doing successful business in Pakistan

and more should come to explore opportunities of investment and joint ventures. He said many Pakistani students were visiting Japan through students exchange programs and stressed that Japanese students should also visit Pakistan on regular basis. It would help in understanding each other’s culture & market as well as further strengthening bilateral trade and economic relations between the two countries.

IcSt urges govt to double export package of rs180b

LccI-SMe Bank to work together for SMes

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ME Bank is ready to provide all types of facilitation to the Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and proposals of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry would be welcomed in this regard.

This was stated by the President of SME Bank Ihsan-ul-Haq Khan while talking to the LCCI Acting President Amjad Ali Jawa and Vice President Muhammad Nasir Hameed Khan here at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Former LCCI Senior Vice President Malik Tahir Javed, executive committee members Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry and Adnan Khalid Butt were also present on the occasion.

President SME Bank said that feedback from the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry could further improve the performance of SME bank. –CB Report

ISLAMABAD

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hile lauding the government for announcing export package worth Rs180 billion, the Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders (ICST) has demanded to double the size of package.

The export package is laudable but the allocation should be increased to Rs360 billion as the existing package has partly supported the exporters, said Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders (ICST) Patron Shahid Rasheed Butt. He said that recent terror incidents across the country have dented the conTidence of investors therefore the militants should be dealt with Iron hand. Exports continue to fall hurting the

conTidence of investors, hitting forex reserves and renewing fears of losing export markets, he added.

He said that exports are stagnant since last few years and the current export target is unachievable in the current set of circumstances. He feared that imports would continue to grow leaving the country with little options to seek another International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. He noted that pushing exports to $50 billion in not difficult if some steps are taken in the right direction for which political will is needed. “The business leader said that many countries are facing energy crisis therefore our authorities should stop blaming energy crisis for everything,” he added.

The present dismal situation

can be changed by ending adhocism, promoting SME sector which covers 96 percent of the businesses, establishing export and import bank, appointment of professionals on key posts and taking some harsh unpopular decisions, he suggested.

Meanwhile, Business community is the backbone of the economy and ICT administration would try to resolve their key issues on priority basis to facilitate the growth of business activities. This was stated

by Capt (r) Mushtaq Ahmed, Deputy Commissioner ICT, Islamabad while speaking at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He was accompanied by ADC (East) Capt ® Waqas Rashid, AC Secretariat Hassan Waqar Cheema, AC Saddar Bushra Iqbal and others.

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Deputy Collector Usman reshuffles eight employees Wednesday March 15, 2017

National Faisalabad ASo impounds Non-Duty paid toyota Surf FAISALABAD

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FAISALABAD: Customs Collectorate Deputy Collector Headquarters Usman Tariq has reshuffled eight customs employees with immediate effect. Sources told Customs Today that deputy collector (DC) transferred Muhammad Bashir from Anti-Smuggling Organization (ASO) Sargodha to ASO Jhang while Inspector Malik Atif Mumtaz was transferred on joining ASO Sargodha and Inspector Rana Abdul Nasir was reshuffled from ASO Jhang to State Warehouse (SWH) Dry Port Faisalabad. Inspector Tanveer-ul-Haq has been transferred from Recovery to Ant-Smuggling Organization (ASO) Faisalabad and Inspector Amir Mumtaz Bajwa has been transferred from airport to ASO Sargodha, Ghulam Murtaza transferred from ASO Sargodha to ASO Jhang.

Afghan officials protest bids to seal torkham border T

PESHAWAR

IrFAN BAhADur

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he Anti-Smuggling Organization (ASO) has seized foreign origin (F/O) Toyota Surf with registration No: LWQ-918 modelled 1976 worth Rs1.5million involving customs duty and taxes of Rs1.2millions. Sources told Customs Today that Deputy Collector Muhammad Rizwan received a tipoff regarding some smuggling attempts. He formed an ASO team under the supervision of Superintendent Saeed Akhtar Joiya which also included Inspector Khalid Ashraf Noor, Mehmood Ahmed Dogar, Ali Zahid, Driver Muhammad Khalid Dogar and Muhammad Ashraf and Muhammad Shah Zaib and other sepoys. The ASO team intercepted the Toyota Surf on Jhang Road Faisalabad. The ASO team asked driver named Muhammad Ahsan son of Muhammad Munir, a resident of Peoples Colony Faisalabad, to produce the legal documents of the vehicle but he failed.

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ASo confiscates 30 dinner sets worth rs240000 he Customs Anti-Smuggling Organization (ASO) has seized foreign origin 30 dinner sets valued 240000 involving duty taxes of Rs153480 during a crackdown in Hyderabad. Sources told Customs Today that these items were brought to Hyderabad from Karachi. The sources said that Collector Customs Hyderabad Agha Shahid Majeed Khan received a credible information regarding the smuggling of above said items. He constituted a raiding team under the supervision of Additional Collector Omer Shafique. The ASO team raided the premises of a goods transport company and intercepted a public vehicle and recovered imported non-duty-paid dinner sets. –CB Report

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he Afghan ofTicials have protested against the efforts to seal the Torkham Gate saying Pakistan has used shrine’s attack as a pretext to pressure Afghanistan economically.

Omar Zakhilwal, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan, has said earlier that if border did not open soon, his government would be forced to airlift its stranded citizens which could lead to further badness of relations between neighbouring countries.

The Pak-Afghan Chamber of Commerce estimated that traders from both countries were losing about $4million a day because of the border closure. Pakistani traders are bearing about 80 percent of those

losses because during the winter Pakistani exports of fruit and vegetables to Afghanistan increase.

The ofTicial Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industries said thou-

sands of trucks on both sides of the border had remained stranded, and the businessmen are urged to Tind other routes to transport their goods. In September 2005, Pakistan

stated it had plans to build a 1,500mile (2,400 km) fence along its border with Afghanistan to prevent insurgents and drug smugglers slipping between the two countries.

Imran Khan, Chairman Pakistan Tehrik Insaaf (PTI) and opposition leader in the national assembly, said previous day that Torkham Gate’s closure was “building into a humanitarian crisis.”

He called upon both governments to resolve the crisis so that “those with valid travel documents and perishable goods” could cross the border. The long border is porous, and Pakistan has to not focus only on the formal crossing points, he said.

Long ago a biometric system was installed by Pakistan on border crossings. Afghanistan had objected to the system.

ANF recovers 15.6kg drugs, arrests 20 in raids T

KARACHI

MuBeeN huSSAIN

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he Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) has recovered 15.6 kilograms of drugs during different raids in several educational institutions, arresting 20 suspects across the country.

The source informed Customs Today that the arrested suspects used to sell the drugs to the students of schools, colleges and universities. According to the details, the ANF teams carried out several raids in different cities of the country and recovered 15.6 kilogram drugs being sold in different educational institutions.

The teams conducted eight raids in Peshawar, four in Rawalpindi, four in Lahore. The raids were also conducted in Jhelum, Multan, Karachi and Quetta during which a huge quantity of drugs was recovered.

The recovered drugs included 15 kilogram of hashish and 610 grams of heroin which worth million of rupees in international

markets. During the raids across the country 20 suspects have been busted and cases have been registered against them following the

Anti Narcotics Act 1997.

The staff of the Anti Narcotics Force will also be chasing the master minds who distributes the

drugs to their agents and will brought them to the Justices. The investigations from the apprehended culprits are underway.

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ATIR to hear tax matter filed by M/s Pakistan Oil Fields ISLAMABAD: The Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue (ATIR) will hear a tax matter filed by M/s Pakistan Oil Fields on Tuesday.

ATIR Account Member Dr Ghulam Mujtaba Bhatti would hear the case. M/s Pakistan Oil Fields had challenged a decision announced by Regional Tax Office of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) before the tribunal. According to details, M/s Pakistan Oil Fields had challenged a recovery notice issued to it under the head of outstanding income tax by the RTO, Islamabad. This case, filed by M/s Pakistan Oil Fields, was heard by the bench for the first time and adjourned. The bench was hearing a matter remanded back to tribunal by the Islamabad High Court with directions to decide fate of the matter lawfully.

Sialkot excise issues notices to 10000 tax defaulters SIALKOT

ZAFAr MALIk

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he Excise and Taxation Department , while tightening its circle around its chronic defaulters, has issued the final recovering notices to around 10000 defaulters in Gujranwala division’s all the six Sialkot, Narowal, Gujrat, Mandi Bahaud Din, Hafizabad and Gujranwala districts, besides, issuing their arrest warrants ,advising the defaulters to ensure the early clearance of their prolonged pending arrears within two weeks otherwise, their properties would be locked up and auctioned with the help of the local courts after this final deadline given them, in this regard. According to

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the senior officials, the Excise & Taxation Department has already constituted as many as 100 recovery teams in Gujranwala division for recovering more than Rs.2 billion in shape of property, professional and other taxes in the fiscal year 2016-17 as well. Meanwhile, Mayor of Sialkot Municipal Corporation Chaudhary Tauheed Akhtar has said Sialkot exporters have written a unique golden history of ‘self-help’. He said the industrialists and exporters of Sialkot had set a unique precedent for others by successfully launching a mega project on self-help basis. He stated this while addressing the participants of a welcoming luncheon ceremony hosted in his honour by the management of Sialkot International Airport on Tuesday. MPA Ch. Muhammad Ikram, Chairman SIAL Malik Muhammad Ashraf, CEO SIAL Maj-Gen (Retd) Mir Haider Ali Khan, Chairman Air Sial Airline Fazal Jillani, Sialkot exporters’ leader, business tycoon Riazud Din Sheikh and SIAL’s former chairmen and directors also attended the ceremony.

National

Ihc seeks detail from parties on petition filed by M/s Mobile communication Limited A

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was issued with mala-Tide intentions.

The appellant further prayed the court to bar LTU from taking coercive measure to recover the said amount.

M/s Mobile Communication Limited submitted before the court that the impugned order was issued under mala Tide intentions and had no legal standing or authority and the court may decide on relief which it deemed appropriate in this regard. It also stated that due legal course was not

followed by the department in issuing the order. M/s Mobile Communication Limited had also mentioned that departmental obligations were not met amid processing the notice of recovery demand while later the adjudication did not addressed grievances of the appellant. M/s Mobile Communication Limited had also prayed the court to decide the case early as the appellant had to bear Tinancial complications after the tax matter.

ANF arrests 12 drug smugglers

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RAWALPINDI

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nti-Narcotics Force (ANF) on the special directive of Director General ANF Major General Nasir Dilawar Shah, has launched special drive to apprehend drug supplies involved in supply of drugs to the students of educational institutions across the country. It has arrested 12 drug peddles besides recovering 5.88 kgs drugs comprising 4.15 kg Hashish, 270 grams Heroin, 80 grams Opium, 25 grams Ice and 80 grams Ecstasy Powder, valuing Rs6.3 million in international market.

Faisalabad customs I&I seizes smuggled items, truck during crackdown FAISALABAD

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he Customs Intelligence and Investigation has confiscated Indian origin goods and non-duty paid Mazda truck worth Rs 22,617,400. According to the details, Director Rabab Sikander received credible information about some smuggling attempts. He immediately constituted customs team comprising Deputy Director Riaz Hussain, Superintendent Zahid Raza Bukhari, Senior Intelligence Officer Muhammad Tahir, Intelligence Officer Muhammad Saleem and Muhammad Siddique. The team intercepted a a truck bearing registration no: LET-3375 loaded with ladies fancy dupatta, ladies shirt cloth, embroidery cloth and other items. The official asked the driver namely Muhammad Jameel son of Badar Zaman to show the documents regarding its legal import but he failed to do the same. Therefore, the customs officials seized the goods under the Import and Export Control Act 1950 punishable under Section 156(1) 89 and 178 of Customs Act, 1969. The seizure report forwarded to Customs Adjudication for further legal action.

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ISLAMABAD

division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on directed parties to submit more records in a case Tiled by M/s Mobile Communication Limited. The company had challenged a show cause notice issued by deputy commissioner Inland Revenue, Islamabad, through the income tax reference.

The IHC bench, comprising of Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kyani, heard the matter. M/s Mobile Communication Limited had Tiled the case against Tield ofTice of the Federal Board of Revenue.

Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), ofTicers of LTU including commissioner Inland Revenue, deputy commissioner Inland Revenue and commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals) were made respondents in the case.

M/s Mobile Communication Limited had Tiled the case seeking restrictions for LTU, Islamabad about recovering outstanding tax amount or making any other coercive move prior to court’s directions on the issue.

M/S Mobile Communication Limited also stated that show cause notice mentioning outstanding tax amount

Tuesday March 14, 2017

According to ANF spokesman on Saturday, ANF Rawalpindi arrested a drug peddler indentiTied as accused Ejaz-ul-Hassan resident of Kotli, Azad Kashmir and recovered 500 grams Hashish, 25 grams Ice and 80 grams Ecstasy Powder from his possession. The accused was arrested from F-10 Markaz, Islamabad who was allegedly involved in supply of drugs to the students of educational institutions at Islamabad.

ANF Lahore arrested a local drug peddler namely accused Abdul Rahim r/o Multan and recovered 250 grams Hashish from his possession. He was apprehended near main gate of Bahauddin Zakria University, Bosan Road, Multan.

In another operation, ANF Lahore arrested a drug peddler identiTied as accused Aijaz alias Jajja r/o Faisalabad and recovered 110 grams Heroin from his possession.

He was arrested near Randhawa Car Service Station, Millat Road, Faisalabad. As per reports, the accused was involved in distribution of drugs in private and government educational institutions of the city.

Yet in another operation, ANF Lahore arrested two street peddle snear Sandal College Millat Road, Faisalabad, recovering 150 grams Hashish from their possession. In fourth operation, ANF arrested accused Fazal Masih r/o Lahore in a raid conducted near Pharmacy Uni-

versity of Punjab, Old Campus, Mall Road, Lahore and recovered 160 grams Heroin from his possession.

In Tifth operation, ANF Lahore arrested Zeeshan Latif r/o Lahore, who was involved in supply of drugs to the students of colleges and universities at Lahore, recovering two kg Hashish. He was arrested near Adil CNG, College Road, Township, Lahore. ANF Peshawar arrested a local drug peddler namely accused Faisal Aman r/o Swabi and recovered 30 grams Hashish from his personal possession. He was arrested near Islamia University, Peshawar. ANF Karachi on pursuance of an information, raided near Mengal Public School.

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OPEC exports indicate non-compliance Wednesday March 15, 2017

World

KUWAIT CITY: Has no one really done a “getting riggy with it” pun yet? OK then, here it goes. We’ve made it to Friday, which means we get a couple of data points to hold our attention at the tail-end of the trading week. First we get the Baker Hughes report, which will once again likely be getting riggy with it (ta-dah!), as prices in fifty-dollardom continue to incentivize drilling activity. After that we get CFTC data, which will likely show an ongoing overcrowded tilt towards the bulls. But for now, hark, here are five things to consider in oil markets today: The more we look at OPEC loadings, the more that Jack Nicholson movies come to mind. After we mused that last month’s loadings were “As Good As It Gets,” our focus this month has switched to “Something’s Gotta Give,” given the current status of net long financial positioning (at a record), US oil inventories (at a record) and Singapore’s floating storage in recent weeks (at a record).

Jordan, Iraq discuss exempting Switzerland import gold worth uS$2b from ghana exports from customs duties ACCRA

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BAGHDAD

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ordanian and Iraqi ofTicials on Monday opened a discussion on prospects for exempting certain Iraq-bound Jordanian exports from custom duties and agreed to set relevant criteria for that purpose.

In a meeting held in Amman today, ofTicials from both countries agreed to remove impediments hindering the two-way trade exchange.

The Jordanian ofTicials handed the Iraqi side a list of commodities the Kingdom wants to be exempted from customs fees.

Secretary-General of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, Yousef Shamali, said in a statement that the meeting came as a followup on the outcome of a visit Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki paid to Baghdad last month to broaden eco-

rise in chaharmahal non-oil exports on-oil exports from ChaharmahalBakhtiari Province in southwest Iran exceeded $96.7 million during the 11 months to February 18, registering a 24% increase compared with the corresponding period of last year, the head of Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari Industries, Mines and Trade Organization said. “We export goods to 18 countries, namely the Netherlands, Brazil, Romania, Tajikistan, Poland, Georgia, the US, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Kuwait, Turkmenistan, the UAE, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Iraq and Afghanistan,” Naeem Emami was also quoted as saying by IRNA. Emami noted that the main exported commodities during the period were household appliances, air conditioners, water heaters, refrigerators, plastic products, almond, cream, cheese, milk, trout, animal feed, washing machines, wire, tiles and ceramics. –CB Report

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nomic engagement between the two countries. They emphasized the importance of establishing joint partnerships in Iraq and beneTiting from privatization projects in Iraq.

Meanwhile, Jordan and Japan on Wednesday, signed a $4.5 million grant agreement under which Japan will provide advanced security equipment to Tive border posts in

the Kingdom. The agreement was signed by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury and the Japanese Ambassador to Jordan Shuichi Sakurai. In a press statement following the signing ceremony, Fakhoury highlighted the importance of these equipment in providing security protection to the Kingdom’s borders.

gang bringing drugs to Bengaluru from Nepal busted

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n a major breakthrough, Mico Layout police busted a drug peddling gang with the arrest of four members, including a person from Nepal. Charas and marijuana worth Rs 27 lakh have been seized from them. The arrested are Ashok Bahadur (21), native of Nepal, Bijay Singh (30), resident of HSR Layout, Nizamuddin (25), resident of N S Palya, BTM Layout, and Avishek Singh (34), resident of Hosapalya.

They were caught with 2.7kg of cha-

ras and 5.3kg of marijuana.

The police said the drugs were being smuggled from Nepal to Bengaluru via Delhi. The accused would cover the charas with three layers of thin plastic cover and hide it in a plastic material which looked like jowar.

They would transport the goods in a tonga and cross the border to Uttarakhand. From there, they would come to Delhi in a bus, where they generally sold some amount of drugs to their Delhi dealers. –CB Report

witzerland imported over US$2 billion worth of gold from Ghana in 2016 alone for conversion to Tinished products for the world market. This shows an overwhelming increase of about US$90 million dollars over the 2015 Tigure of US$1 billion.

The Charge de Affairs of the Swiss Embassy in Ghana, Roland Fischer, announced this at the annual Swiss-Ghanaian Chamber of Commerce (SGCC) cocktail and business executives meeting in Accra.

In 2014 alone, the volume of trade between Switzerland and Ghana hit US$1.8 billion and has since been rising every year.

Within the same period, Ghana imported US$14.8 billion, making it the 87th largest importer in the world. Over the last Tive years, the

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imports of Ghana have increased at an annualized rate of 13.7 per cent from US$7.8 billion in 2009 to US$14.8 billion in 2014. The most recent imports are led by reTined petroleum which represents 14.7 per cent of the total imports of Ghana, followed by crude petroleum, which accounts for 3.68 per cent.

Meanwhile, The Swiss Federal Department of Finance said that it is forging ahead with work on a new corporate tax proposal, named “tax proposal 17” (TP17).

A steering committee held its first meeting on March 2. It is led by Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer and comprises members from the government and cantons. The group agreed the timetable for TP17. In March, hearings will be arranged with the political parties, cities, and communes, national churches, and associations. These hearings will determine the next steps to be taken. The new proposal must then be submitted to the Federal Council in June.

AirAsia launches new brand campaign alaysian AirAsia recently launched a new brand campaign, ‘Live Life Unexpected’.

According to details, the campaign, developed in collaboration with Entropia, seeks to inspire people to go for the unexpected and do something new. Supporting the year-long Visit Asean@50 initiative as the Asean Airline partner, the campaign encourages travelers to live the unique Asean experience through its network of 80 destinations. The campaign that was launched across print media, YouTube, social media and other online platforms, entices people

with original experiences – to seek delightful surprises of travel, appealing to the wanderlust, and the boundless spirit in them. The campaign will be rolled out across all 10 countries in Asean. AirAsia Bhd head of commercial Spencer Lee says: “AirAsia as a brand has always stood for discovering the unexpected, the exciting. “We are also the only airline to Tly directly to all 10 Asean countries. Commenting on the campaign, Entropia partner Ramakrishnan CN notes: “AirAsia is an icon of our times. It has brought a certain freedom to a whole generation of people. –CB Report

Iraq’s kurdistan negotiates $3b oil pre-payment deals

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BAGHDAD

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raq’s Kurdistan has agreed new deals to borrow $3 billion from trading houses and Russian state oil Tirm Rosneft that will be guaranteed by future oil sales to strengthen its Tiscal position as the semi-autonomous region Tights Islamic State.

Kurdistan’s natural sources minister Ashti Hawrami told Reuters the new deals had been concluded in recent weeks. The region also negotiated grace periods of between 3 and 5 years for repaying the debt.

Trading houses have been pre-Tinancing Kurdish oil exports for the past two years after the government in Erbil decided to start independent oil exports via Turkey’s Mediter-

ranean terminals. Rosneft said last week it would join them. Kurdistan says it needs to export oil independently as Baghdad has not paid Erbil its budget share just as the region needs money to Tight Islamic State and host Syrian refugees.

Baghdad has said it would sue buyers of Kurdish oil, arguing that the central government was the only legal exporter. The new Baghdad

government has softened its stance, however, as it cooperated with Erbil against Islamic State in Mosul.

“This helps our economic independence although it is important to understand that this cannot be achieved just by oil revenues and higher oil prices. We also need to press on with our economic reforms,” Hawrami said in an interview in London.

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Portugal’s second-hand cars imports all time high in 2016 LISBON: Of the 247,000 cars sold in Portugal last year, a record 59,000 were second-hand imports, an all-time high.

Fewer cars are expected to be arriving in Portugal in 2017 with German, French or Belgian plates for matriculation after the government pushed up taxes on the importation of used cars. While the fiscal revision sees taxes go up considerably, buying a more recent low-emissions model in another EU state still appears to make financial sense. According to calculations by consumer rights watchdog, a 2011 BMW 320D Touring imported from Germany will this year still be over 2,500 euros cheaper than one sold in Portugal, though the saving was 4,285 euros in 2016.

gov’t asked to control market prices amid border tensions ost of the potatoes cultivated from domestic sources are being exported abroad due to lack of storage facilities in Afghanistan during the cultivation season, the Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) said on Wednesday. This forces Afghanistan to import potatoes from Iran and Pakistan during other seasons. ACCI says one of the main reasons for the potato price hike is the border restrictions imposed by Pakistan. “The lack of well-maintained stockpiles force us to export the potatoes and when potato season ends, we have to import it again. This also raises the prices,” said Seyam Pesarlai, spokesma to ACCI. Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation has said that it is planning to establish at least 600 potato stockpiles in the country in different provinces to meet the needs of the country during all seasons.“We have established at least 660 stores for potatoes and onions this year, majority of the stores are built in Bamiyan and Parwan provinces,” said Lotfullah Rashid. –CB Report

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taiwanese woman arrested for drug smuggling

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uAe expects 4% growth in 2017 ng Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE’s minister of Economy, has expected that the national economy will achieve a growth rate of between 3.5 to 4 percent in 2017, amid an accelerated activity in vital economic sectors and growth of investment attractiveness, which will lead to many achievements in national economic indicators. Al Mansouri said that continuing to execute projects, which were announced as part of the UAE Vision 2021, would maintain the strength of the national economy growth. He added that the oil sector contributes around 30 percent of the country’s total local production, as it witnesses a current price stabilisation, while expecting a growth in local non-oil products by 3.7 percent this year. In his statement during the UAE-Jordanian Investment Forum launched on Monday in Abu Dhabi. –CB Report

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TAIPEI

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41-year-old woman was arrested at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Saturday as she was attempting to travel to Seoul with more than 2 kilograms of amphetamine, aviation police said.

The woman, who was booked on a China Airlines flight to Seoul, was dressed in bulky clothing and was found to be acting strangely during the security checks at Ter-

minal 1, the police said. A search revealed that she was carrying three packets strapped to her abdomen and legs, the police said.

She later told police that she had been promised NT$250,000 (US$8,075) by a friend to take 2.2 kg of amphetamine to Seoul.

The woman, identified only by the surname Hsieh, has been turned over to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office on charges of drug smuggling in violation of the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act, the police said. They said that since the Taoyuan airport opened in 1979, it was the first case of attempted drug smuggling to South

Korea.

Meanwhile, Imports made by Davao Region for the third quarter of 2016 decreased by 33.03 percent to 376.45 million US dollars (USD) from USD562.16 million in the same period in 2015. Among the top import commodities of the region include other medium oils and preparations at USD33.33 million, lights oils and preparations at USD19.93 million, and unbleached Kraftliner at USD19.31 million. Also imported in the region are other bars and rods at USD 18.88 million and urea, whether or not in aqueous solution, at USD13.06 million.

Wednesday March 15, 2017

portugal, India keen to excel It trade ties ndia and Portugal stressed the need to further explore opportunities to strengthen ties in the field of information and communication technology, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said. To fast-track the collaboration, the government is also looking to set up a working group to enhance the scope for furthering ties, which will be a follow-up of a bilateral agreement between both the countries. “From cyber security to digital delivery to financial inclusion, there is a great scope of working between Portugal and India. We are very soon going to start working group between Portugal and India,” Prasad said after meeting Maria Manuel Leitao Marques, Portugal’s Minister of Presidency and Administrative Modernisation. Prasad said the working group is follow-up of bilateral agreement signed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa. “Portugal and India have got very close relationship, extending for more than 500 years. It is a matter of great moment that present Prime Minister of Portugal also has great Indian roots,” Prasad said. During the meeting, both Prasad and Marques discussed possible areas of mutual cooperation for both the governments in the field of information and communication technology.

India also agreed to support Portugal with capacity building to scale up mechanisms for e-delivery of governance and citizen schemes. –CB Report

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Inflation hits over 2 year high of 3.3% in February

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KUWAIT CITY

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nTlation rose in February due to a much heavier food basket, hitting a 27-month high, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Preliminary data released by NEDA on Tuesday, March 7, showed that inTlation hit 3.3% in February, up from the 2.7% seen at the start of the year. “The inTlation outlook for 2017 remains within the govern-

ment’s target of 2.0 to 4.0%. However, risks to the inTlation outlook appear to be tilted to the upside.

This could drive inTlation towards the higher end of the target,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia in a statement.

NEDA attributed February’s jump mainly to faster price increases in rice, meat, Tish, and vegetables which pushed up the food subgroup inTlation to 4.3% in February from January’s 3.6%.

It also noted that the Philippines’ temporary ban on poultry imports

from South Korea, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Kuwait in response to the avian Tlu outbreak may have contributed to the limited supply and driven up prices.

The higher rice prices were due to lower rice stock inventories, which fell by 17.9% from December 2016 to January 2017, due to the contraction in palay production in the 4th quarter of 2016, Pernia added. The NEDA chief also warned that rice supply may be further strained as the National Food Authority’s memorandum allowed the entry of rice imports un-

der the minimum access volume program only from October 2016 until February 28, 2017. Meanwhile, Kuwait’s latest budget will focus capital expenditure on downstream oil and gas activities during FY 2017/18 in a bid to create jobs, offset falling crude export revenue and capitalise on rising regional demand for reTined products. The government is taking steps to expand private sector participation in economic development, including through three planned power projects and a US dollar-denominated bond issue – a Tirst for Kuwait.

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FIA arrests four human traffickers from different places Wednesday March 15, 2017

Lahore

LAHORE: At least four suspects have been arrested by the FIA on grounds of tricking people on the pretext of jobs abroad.

Sources told Customs Today that after receiving credible information, security officers conducted an operation in Lahore and arrested four suspects identified as Khurrum Bukhari, Mohammad Sarfraz, Mirza Amjad and Mohsin Latif.

The FIA sources claimed that the suspects have also confessed to taking money from more than 12 people illegally. The suspects have been handed over to anti-human trafficking cell for further investigation.

central region registers 1pc growth in duty collection in 8 months

All tax collecting agencies focusing on tax net: Aisha

LAHORE

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ustoms Central Region has collected Rs27612 million customs duty (CD) during the eight month of current Tinancial year 2016-17 (July-February) by registering 1 percent growth against proposed collection target of Rs27414 during the period.

As per details the Customs Appraisement Lahore collected Rs15680 million during the Tirst eight months against assigned target Rs15661 million during the period under review.

Similarly, Customs Preventive collected Rs5340million customs duty during the eight month against the proposed target Rs5797 million during the period. The Collectorate of Multan collected Rs4812 million dur-

FIA arrests accused IA Gujranwala/Gujrat on conducted raids in different areas and arrested an agent and two other accused. According to FIA spokesman, the team arrested the land route agent, Sohail Abbas of Gujranwala, while Muhammad Babo of Narowal and Hamayoun of Sialkot were also arrested. Meanwhile, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime Circle Lahore on Friday arrested an accused involved in harassing a student girl. According to FIA spokesman that the team conducted a raid and arrested the accused, Tahir Nabi, while a case has been registered against him. Meanwhile, The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Saturday arrested an accused for extortion. According to FIA spokesman, Muhammad Ali of tehsil Hasilpur, district Bahawalpur, extorted Rs459,000 from Matloob Ahmad of Toba Tek Singh for employment in Malaysia. –M Imran Mehar

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ing the period under review against the assigned target Rs 4956 million for the period. In the same way, the Collectorate of Customs Faisalabad collected Rs 1779 million during the eight month of Tinancial against the target Rs 1000 million during the period. Overall the Central Region collected total customs duty from all the four collectrates worth Rs27612 million customs duty against the 27414 million during the period. Sources said that Chief Collector of Customs has instructed all the collectors of the four collectors to work hard to achieve the targets given by the board and also motivate the subordinates to use all available resources to gather as much revenue as they can do to achieve the targets. It is further informed that the new Chief Collector of Customs Central Region Zeba Hai Azhar has planned to hold periodical meetings with the ofTicials of the four collectorates.

LAHORE

cuStoMS BuLLetIN report

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rovincial Minister for Finance Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha said all the tax collecting agencies, including Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA), will focus on the increase tax net instead of tax percentage in the coming Tinancial year.

She stated this while presiding over a meeting of the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) Advisory Committee in the committee room of the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday. We need a change of culture for increasing tax collection through awareness schemes, Aisha stressed.

Improvement in health institutions, facilities in educational institutions, increment in educational scholarships, availability of pure water, improvement of transport, law and order and decrease in duration of

customs court imposes fine of rs 20,000 on deported citizens

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he Special Federal Court of Customs Taxation and AntiSmuggling has imposed a penalty of Rs 20,000 each on 14 Pakistani citizens who were recently deported from Greece due to over stay.

According to details available to Customs Today on Wednesday, at least 13 persons were presented before the court of Ch Aaqil Hussain.

They were deported from Greece when caught there on illegal stay and on fake documents as well. The customs judge announced the ver-

dict on the case and set them free after the payment of Rs 20,000 each.

All the persons went to Greece illegally for getting employment there.

Meanwhile, The Special Court of the Customs Taxation and AntiSmuggling heard 17 important cases on Saturday and adjourned most of the cases until next hearing.

According to details, 17 cases of different types, including pre-arrest bail pleas Tiled by different accused persons, were scheduled for hearing on Tuesday. –Sajid Nawaz

loadshedding will encourage the public to pay more taxes.

The minister said she will discourage unlawful act by the tax collecting agencies and empower the PRA appellate tribunal to provide justice to the parties. The Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) always showed its performance and cooperated with the taxpayers, she re-

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marked. Member Operations Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) Javaid Ahmed, Member Policies Dr Uzma Akram, Additional Commissioner Shehzad Mehmood Gondal, Special Secretary Finance Said Ullah Dogar, formerChief Economist of Pakistan Dr Parvaiz Tahir and Executive Director LUMS Entrepreneur Khurram Zafar participated in the meeting.

ASo seizes millions of rupees illegal cigarettes

irectorate of Customs Preventive Anti-Smuggling Organization has seized million of rupees Toyota Vitz and 51 cartons of foreign origin cigarettes, ofTicial sources told Customs Today.

The sources said that upon receipt of information the anti vehicle smuggling squad of ASO Lahore intercepted and detained a foreign origin Toyota Vitz of latest model on suspicion of being smuggled into the country after evading duties and taxes. The value of the vehicle is estimated to be about Rs1 million including duty and taxes worth Rs 6 million. The vehicle was being plyed

on the city roads when it was intercepted by the customs ofTicials In another similar activity, an information was received regarding movement of a huge quantity of foreign origin smuggled cigarettes upon which a special squad was formed under the supervision of Superintendent Customs ASO and a vehicle bearing registration no LEI 3781 was intercepted near Sabzazar, Lahore by the ASO ofTicials, it was reported.

The sources said that upon examination 51 cartons (around 500,000) sticks of foreign origin cigarettes were recovered. –M Hayat

customs Appellate tribunal hears 12 important cases

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LAHORE

SAJID NAwAZ

www.customsbulletin.com

he Customs Appellate Tribunal division bench-II comprising Judicial Member Omer Arshad Hakeem and Member Technical Imran Tariq heard 12 cases and adjourned all the cases until the next hearing.

The Customs Appellate Tribunal adjourned the hearing of 12 cases, including Gogha Shahbaz versus Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation Faisalabad, Muhammad Rizwan versus Customs Multan, Azhar Hussain versus Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation Multan and Salman Butt versus Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation Lahore. On Monday, the tribunal heard cases of Relience

Weaving versus Customs Multan, Muhammad Shahban versus customs Faisalabad, Abdul Razzaq versus Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation Gujrat and Maxi Inch versus valuation Lahore. Furthermore, the tribunal heard Raza Ali Shah versus Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation Faisalabad, Noraeen Zahoor versus customs Faisalabad, customs Lahore versus Tabish Corporation,

Owais and Shoaib versus Post Clearance Audit (PCA) Lahore. In all the cases, the representatives of the appellants and respondents appeared before the court and argued in favor of their respective parties. After hearing the arguments from the parties, the Customs Appellate Tribunal reserved the verdict in few cases of Lahore and adjourned all the other cases until the next hearing.

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Balancing Port Competitiveness and Security WASHINGTON: Secure and efficient ports support a sustainable maritime sector and underline the interconnection between ships, ports and people. This was one of the themes outlined by International Maritime Organization (IMO) ‘ Javier Yasnikouski, Head of Maritime Security, who was speaking at the Hemispheric Conference on Port Competitiveness and Security, organized by the InterAmerican Committee on Ports (CIP) of the Organization of American States (OAS), in Miami, United States (22- 24 February). The event provided an opportunity to highlight the IMO World Maritime Day theme for 2017, “Connecting Ships, Ports and People”.

chabahar port plan runs into loan hurdle ndia’s ambitious plan to develop Chabahar Port in Iran has hit yet another snag over what is being seen as an inordinate delay on the part of Iran to seek a $150 million loan from India. According to a report by Livemint.com, eight months have passed since the loan agreement was signed for the port’s development, but the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) is still awaiting the completion of an application from the Port and Maritime Organization of Iran with instructions to disburse the amount. Based on the agreement, the contract will be activated from the day the loan has been disbursed.

Chabahar Port is located on the Sea of Oman, near Iran’s border with Pakistan. It is less than 100 km from Pakistan’s Chinese-built Gwadar Port, part of a project to open up an energy and trade corridor from

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Oman Sea to western China. The port will allow India access to landlocked Afghanistan and energy-rich Central Asia through Jawaharlal Nehru and Kandla ports on India’s west coast. India has also built a 218- km road link connecting Delaram with Zaranj in Afghanistan, which is adjacent to Iran’s border.

Also, the port will promote Indian strategic interests in the Oman Sea and Strait of Hormuz. A 10-year commercial agreement for the development and operation of Chabahar Port was signed between India Ports Global Pvt. Ltd. and Iran’s Arya Banader on 23 May 2016 in Tehran during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India Ports Global is a consortium of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and Kandla Port Trust. –CB Report

Ports & hipping

cargo traffic at 12 major ports up 7.14% at 535 Mt in Apr-Jan WASHINGTON

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uoyed by pick up in demand, India’s 12 major ports saw cargo trafTic increase by 7.14 percent to 535.35 million tonnes (MT) during the Tirst 10 months of the current Tiscal. These top ports under the Centre had handled 499.68 MT cargo during the April-January period of the last Tiscal. “Increased demand from various sectors including iron ore, POL and containers saw cargo trafTic grow by 7 percent to 535 MT” a Shipping Ministry ofTicial told PTI. Iron ore trafTic volumes more than doubled to 38.61 MT during the period while POL (petroleum, oil and lubricants) volumes too surged by 8 percent, the ofTicial said.

Kandla port handled the highest trafTic volume at 88.47 MT during the April-January period of the current Tiscal followed by Paradip Port at 72.90 MT, Mumbai Port at 52.94 MT, JNPT at 51.32 MT and Visakha-

patnam at 50.98 MT, he said. Chennai port handled 42.20 MT of cargo while Kolkata Port including Haldia handled 40.57 MT of cargo.

Volume of seaborne cargo is essentially in the nature of derived demand and is mainly shaped by the levels and changes in both the global and domestic activity. During the ten months, Murmugao port recorded the highest growth in trafTic at 61.95 percent followed by Paradip Port at 18.20 percent, New Mangalore at

13.60 percent and Cochin at 10.60 percent. Three of the ports that witnessed negative growth during the period are Kamrajar 4.16 percent JNPT at 4.15 percent and Kolkata 2.46 percent. India has 12 major ports: Kandla, Mumbai, JNPT, Marmugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Ennore, V O Chidambarnar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia) which handle approximately 61 percent of the country’s total cargo trafTic.

Wednesday March 15, 2017

Simulation proves uLcV Safety at NY-NJ ports state-of-the-art computer simulation has confirmed that both new classes of ultra large container vessels (ULCVs) those handling 14,000 and 18,000 TEUS can safely navigate the Port of New York and New Jersey (NY-NJ). Critical components for the transits will be communication and coordination among the various port stakeholders, said officials in the Port Department of the Port Authority of NY and NJ. Members of the Port Authority’s Port Department are planning to establish a working group to develop a set of procedures and protocols that all port constituents will be asked to agree with in order to ensure the safety and efficiency of all waterside activities. The simulations also established some important parameters for the handling of ULCVs at the Port of NY and NJ. For example, there will be limitations on which part of the tidal cycle these vessels can transit, as well as speed, visibility and maximum wind conditions.

Simulations were conducted in two phases during the second half of 2016 at the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) in Linthicum Heights, Maryland. –CB Report

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Deputy pM demands review of fee at ports T

WASHINGTON

cuStoMS BuLLetIN report www.customsbulletin.com

he Government OfTice last weekend sent a document requiring the ministries of Finance, Justice, Industry and Trade, Planning and Investment, Transport, and Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) to work with the municipal People’s Committee to review the collection of fees and report to the Prime Minister before March 20. Last week, the municipal People’s Committee released a document afTirming that the collection had adequate legal foundation. It said the fees were much lower than that of Lao Cai (a half for 20-feet container and 62.5 per cent for 40-feet container). It added that Hai Phong City was the Tirst locality in the country to charge fees at seaports and so, it could not compare its fees with other locali-

ties having seaports. Earlier this month, VCCI submitted a document to the PM, saying that the fees being collected under Resolution No 148 were much higher than the current levels of up to 70 per cent.

VCCI said the fees for the use of infrastructure, service facilities and public utilities at Hai Phong’s seaports were increased for two consecutive years since 2015. It added that businesses believed the city’s roadmap for an increase of fees had been too short, as the fees were increased thrice within three years.

The Ministry of Finance on January 25 had said the fees being collected should ensure competitiveness and create a favourable investment environment for Tirms. The ministry also asked the Government OfTice to ensure that the charges were in line with the payment ability of enterprises, and transport through the seaports and operations are con-

ducted smoothly.

Meanwhile, The dispute is already disrupting operations at a number of ports, affecting trafTic in and out of Spain. Stowage association Sageb-Sevasa said as many as 12 ships had been forced to change their navigation plans to avoid stopping at the port of Valencia, where workers are staging a “go-slow” that has reportedly led to a 30 per cent drop in productivity since last week.

Begoña Jimenez of exporter federation Fepex said if the strike goes ahead it will have little impact on the sector as 95 per cent of Spanish fruits and vegetables are sent via trucks.

However, Spanish companies have been making steady inroads into non-EU markets in recent years, many of which are reached by sea.

With an already complicated citrus campaign in full swing, there are fears that prolonged action could affect shipments bound for emerging

markets such as China, the Middle East and South America. Stonefruit producers, Meanwhile, are warning that unless the situation is resolved, it could affect the new season when it gets underway in June. Miguel Ángel Gómez of Extremadura grower association Afruex told EFE that exporters rely heavily on ports such as Algeciras to ship produce to countries like Canada, South Africa and the UAE. Around 70,000 tonnes of fruit from Extremadura was shipped to foreign markets through the region’s ports last year. According to Fepex, around 600,000 tonnes of fruits, vegetables and Tlowers were sent to third countries in 2016, accounting for 6 per cent of Spain’s export total. The strike could also disrupt imports of pineapples, bananas and counterseasonal products such as melons. Spanish imports of fresh fruits and vegetables have been rising steadily since the start of the decade.

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Faisalabad customs appraisement surpasses target by 80pc FAISALABAD: The Customs Collectorate Appraisement generated Rs720.78million during February 2017 against the set target of Rs897million and surpassed it by 80 percent. The customs appraisement collected revenue under the heads of customs duty, sales tax, income tax and federal excise duty during said period. According to the statistics available with Customs Today, it received Rs211.96million customs duty against the set target of Rs158million. The collectorate also recovered the target set for sales tax as it collected Rs495.71million against the set target of Rs719million which is by 69 percent.

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

CUSTOMS BULLETIN

Dg Valuation issues reference values of pentaerythritol 98% min & ice cream KARACHI wAQAr AhMeD ANSArI www.customsbulletin.com

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he Directorate General of Customs Valuation issued the reference values Pentaerythritol 98 percent min and another Valuation is ice cream.

According to details, the Directorate General is populating Valuation Database Values for different items wherein it has been observed that declarations are of wide range and do not correctly reTlect values of the items as traded in the international market. During the scrutiny of previous clearance data, it was observed that Pentaerythritol 98 percent min falling under PCT heading 2905.4200 are being assessed at different values and certain transactions are on very low side. The Directorate General, after carefully examining the clearance data, also conducted market inquiries to verify the authenticity of declarations. Online prices were also obtained to corroborate the Tindings of the market surveys. Therefore the VDB values of Pentaerythritol 98% min are as Pentaerythritol 98% min China/Taiwan origin US$1.425 per kilogram.

Meanwhile, the directorate issued another Valuation of ice cream.

The Directorate General, after carefully examining the clearance data, also conducted market inquiries to verify the authenticity of declarations. Online prices were also obtained to corroborate the findings of the market surveys.

Therefore the VDB values of ice

cream are as Haagen Daz ice cream assorted flavors all origins US$5 per kilogram, London Dairy ice cream assorted flavors all origins US$4.90 per kilogram, Moven Pick ice cream assorted flavors all origins US$10 per kilogram, Baskin Robbins ice cream all origins

US$5.10 per kilogram, Ben & Jerry ice cream all origins US$5 per kilogram, assorted impulse ice cream all origins US$4.50 per kilogram, other brand all origins US$5.50 per kilogram.

The clearance collectorates may like to consider the values given

above before finalizing the assessment of the subject items. If further fine-tuning in specifications and ensuing values are required, Collectorate may forward a reference along with detailed justifications and worksheets so that requisite adjustments are accordingly issued.

court grants bail to suspect booked in mega tax evasion case KARACHI

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ustom Court Judge Syed Faiz Rasool Rashdi granted an interim prearrest bail to an accused named Faiz Rehman S/o Faisal Akbar Khan who was booked in duty and taxes evasion case of Rs05.00million.

During the hearing, counsel for applicant/accused Tiled an appli-

cation for interim pre-arrest bail and argued that applicant/accused is innocent and was falsely implicated in this case as he is ready to face trail, however he has apprehension of arrest therefore court may grant his bail till Tinal decision of this case.

After the hearing, court granted his bail and observed in its order that “Without touching the merits of the case, an interim pre-arrest bail is granted to said accused subject to furnish surety of Rs. 200000 with P.R bond in the like amount to the satisfaction of this court. The custom court also di-

rected the accused to join the investigation if and when required by the investigation ofTicer and ap-

pear before the court on the next date of hearing. The court also called the police papers.

It needs to be mentioned here that on last date of hearing, court had issued non-bailable arrest warrant against the absconding accused persons namely Waseem Hassan S/o Ghulam Hassan, partner of M/s Suaheha International Trade, Abdul Hafeez S/o Abdul Ghani, partner of M/s A-One Oriental, Waseem S/o Abdul Ghani and Faiz Rehman S/o Faisal Akbar Khan and had directed investigation ofTicer to arrest and make them appear before the court

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

prior to the next date of hearing.

According to the prosecution, during the investigation, it was revealed that the above named accused persons evaded duty and taxes of Rs04.8 and incurred a loss to the national exchequer.

Therefore a case was registered against them in violation of Section 19, 32 (1) (2) 32 (A) 79, 172 punishable under clauses 10 (A) 14, 14 (A) 47, 77 and 86 of section 156 (I) Ibid read with section 3 (b) & 6 of the Sales Tax Act1990 punishable under Section 33 ibid and Section 148 of the Income Tax Ordinance-2001.