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Karachi, Fri Sep 14, 2018

PESHAWAR

TARIQ DERYA

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irector Customs Intelligence and Investigation Dr. Arsalan Subuktageen has said that I&I earned Rs.20 million extra revenue by seizing foreign origin non customs paid goods during month of August FY2018-19.

During an exclusive interview with Customs Today, he said that during month of August FY18-19 Customs I&I showed satisfactory performance and impounded offend-

ing (vehicles carried smuggled goods), nonduty paid (NDP) vehicles, narcotics and smuggled goods. Dr. Arslan said that I&I impounded 9 offending vehicles worth Rs5.3 million whereas 8 nonduty paid vehicles were also taken into custody worth of Rs.16.6 million.

Director I&I told that during the month August the anti-smuggling squad foiled eight attempts of heroin smuggling worth Rs4 million.

He told that I&I Peshawar has took many new initiatives like a fresh mobile squad has been formed for conducting special tasks against noto-

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rious elements to curb tax evasion and smuggling activities within the region of KPK. Dr. Arslan told that all perishable Items which were seized by I&I will be auctioned whereas pending adjudication cases as per law and under Section 169 (4) and Section 201 of Customs Act 1969.

Director I&I said that I&I Peshawar is working on honorable way and is performing its functions as a team while staff is using all the available latest tools like lap tops and software and internet facilities to maintained vigilance to discourage smuggling activities and to promote the genuine business.

ASO seizes non-customs paid goods worth Rs39 million

DG Valuation upheld customs values of circuit breakers & baba garments

FTO seeks record of case filed by M/s Abuzar Qasim against RTO

NAB ordered not to humiliate suspects during investigation

‘Customs to establish separate directorate general to handle CPEC related trade’

ASO conducted various operations on the directions of Collector Zulfiqar in the month | SEE pAgE 02 |

DG Valuation rejected revision of VR No.994/2016 and upheld the values circuit | SEE pAgE 03 |

FTO has heard a case filed by proprietor of M/s Abuzar Qasim against the RTO-II | SEE pAgE 04 |

Thetreatmentmetedouttosuspectsofcorrupt practicesduringinvestigationsbytheNAB | SEE pAgE 14 |

In order to efficiently handle the flow of cargo through CPEC, the Pakistan Customs | SEE pAgE 16 |

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FBR directs field formations to achieve 1Q revenue collection target Friday, September 14, 2018

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has directed all field formations to ensure the collection of revenue target set for the first quarter (July to September) of FY 2018-19 and informed that achieving the revenue target is the only facet for performance evaluation. According to official sources, FBR has sent written directives to all large taxpayers units, regional tax offices and corporate regional tax officers to achieve the revenue target using all resources as it is the only altitude for performance evaluation of field formations, while FBR also informed in its directives that 9 field formations have failed to achieve the revenue target set for first two months of FY2018-19.

Islamabad

ASo seizes non-customs paid goods worth Rs39 million

fBR seeks record of cases pending due to stay orders ISLAMABAD

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ederal Board of Revenue (FBR) has directed all the field formations to start recovery of Rs200 billion from the taxpayers which are pending in the tax cases, while the board also sought the record of tax cases from field formations in which appellate tribunal issued stay orders, it is learnt here.

According to official sources, the board has issued special directives in which it is informed to all field formations to use special power to recover tax money soon after passing 180 days of stay order from appellate tribunals. The special authority of recovery was assigned to field formations in the federal budget 2018-19, sources added. Sources said that according to FBR, around Rs385 billion of revenue is hanging in the tax conflicts where concerned departments and appellate tribunals have issued stay orders and the revenue cannot be recovered since long time causing loss to national exchequer. The board has also informed that Rs200 billion is solely pending since 180 days as stay order issued by appellate tribunal. It is the responsibility of tax department to ensure the recovery of tax revenue by effectively trialing the tax cases pending in the tribunals, sources added.

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ISLAMABAD

TARIQ DERYA

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he Anti-Smuggling Organization (ASO) conducted various operations on the directions of Collector Customs ZulViqar Ali Chaudhary during the month of August of current Fiscal

Year 2018-19 and seized non-customs paid goods worth Rs39 million. The Collectorate impounded seven non-duty paid offending vehicles worth Rs16.89 million during these operations in August.

Sources said that ASO seized 3,330 kilograms of various types of cloth worth Rs1.72 million as well as detained 20,515 kilograms of different food grains worth Rs3.06 million. It

was added that during the above-said period, the ASO seized 274 kilogram of tea worth Rs0.098 million and 99 smuggled tyres and tubes worth Rs0.375 million. The ASO seized 1,476 liters of smuggled oil worth Rs0.284 million as well as 200 packs (dandas) of cigarettes worth Rs0.072 million, electronic goods worth Rs0.120 million, 525 kilogram of medicines worth Rs1.57 million and

seized various other smuggled goods worth Rs8.88 million. The sources said that Collector ZulViqar Ali Chaudhary adopted a comprehensive strategy to curb smuggling attempts in the region. Due to these measures, there is marginable decrease being witnessed in the smuggling attempts whereas ASO is also taking effective measures to curb smuggling through Kashmir trade.

govt asks fBR to conduct audit of Rs400m distributed as ‘reward’

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ISLAMABAD

ShAhID mInhAS

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inance Ministry has directed Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to conduct special audit of Rs400 million which has been distributed among FBR ofVicials in the term of “reward” by previous government, it is learnt here.

OfVicial sources told Customs Today that Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will conduct audit of the de-

partment’s income and expenditure for Viscal year 2018-19. However, after issuing written directives from Vinance ministry, FBR will start special audit of “reward” money of Rs400 million which was distributed by the previous government among the FBR’s employees in the name of taking part in budget 201819 preparations.

Sources added that FBR will reconcile reward money with AGPR record and will trace the responsible who are involved in the corruption

in the name of reward. While FBR will recover the money from those ofVicials who took reward money more than the authorized three months basic salary. Meanwhile, FBR is also considering special audit of those departments and divisions who were rewarded in the name of budget preparations. Sources further told that earlier ofVicials from different departments and divisions have received reward money more than 3 basic salaries which was given on the basis of nepotism.

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Citizen moves SHC seeking release of Samsung LEDs KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) directed customs officials to submit detail and comprehensive para-wise comments on petition filed by Namatullah seeking release order for 16 LEDs Samsung seized by customs officials.

A two-member bench, headed by Justice Ashraf Jahan, heard the matter. During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner argued that customs officials had seized his 16 LEDs Samsung brand due to disputed valuation and other reasons, however, deputy collector of Customs Adjudication-1 directed customs officials to release his goods after payment of duty and taxes.

customs court sends suspected smugglers on physical remand

Friday September 14, 2018

Karachi

Dg Valuation upheld customs values of circuit breakers & baba garments

KARACHI

m.B. RAnA

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he Customs Court sent suspects namely Moosa Khan of Khuda-eNazar and Nazeer Ahmed son of Khuda-e-Noor, who were booked in a case of attempting to smuggle non-duty paid contraband foreign-origin cigarettes, to customs lock-up on physical remand. Senior Preventive Officer of Anti-Smuggling Organization Zubair Siddique produced the above mentioned accused before the court and informed that actionable information was received to the effect that a passenger bus of M/s Al-Hafeez Movers bearing registration no: CH-15634 heading towards Karachi loaded with the foreign-origin smuggled non-duty paid goods like cigarettes, auto parties, tyres and other merchandize goods etc.

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Shc directs customs officials to produce imported vehicles KARACHI

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he Sindh High Court (SHC) directed customs officials to produce vehicles before court on next date of hearing on different constitutional petition filed by citizen for release their imported vehicles which were seized by customs officials due to alleged its involvement in smuggling. A two-member bench, headed by Justice Ashraf Jahan, was hearing the matters. Counsel for citizen Hameed Ullah informed the court that he had purchased Toyota Crown car bearing registration number AGB-588 model 2007 after fulfilling all the legal formalities and paid all the duty and taxes; however, customs officials seized his car without lawful reasons. During the hearing other counsels also argued that they also imported their cars after completing legal formalities, however, customs officials stopped them and snatch their vehicles.

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KARACHI

wAQAR AhmED AnSARI www.customsbulletin.com

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irector-General Directorate of Customs Valuation Surriya Butt rejected revision of Valuation Ruling No.994/2016 and 1005/2017 and upheld the values circuit breakers and another values of children baby, baba garments of low end brands of China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and other countries, determined vide the said valuation ruling. Source told Customs Today that M/s GB Traders and others importer approached Directorate General Customs Valuation appealing that the Valuation Ruling No.994/2016 does not cover the present Vluctuation of prices in international market which have been reduced to about half of the prices.

The Director General noted that importers had failed to prove with conclusive evidence that the values worked out in the impugned ruling were on higher side.

On the other hand, the department produced details of valuation exercise conducted to determine the values of circuit breakers and another value of children baby, baba garments. Perusal of case record and the defense of the department revealed that the Directorate of Customs Valuation while issuing the impugned valuation ruling associated the importers including the petitioners. Further,

the values of subject goods have already been rationalized by the department while revising the previous valuation ruling and notifying the impugned ruling. Meanwhile, The Directorate General of Customs Valuation revised the customs values of submersible pump with motor (plastic body) up to 100 watt through Valuation Ruling No: 1324/2018 under Section 25A of the Customs Act-1969. According to the details, it has been

Directorate general customs Valuation appealing that the Valuation Ruling no.994/2016 does not cover the present fluctuation of prices in international market which have been reduced to about half of the prices

ASo busts smuggled hSD, contraband items

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KARACHI

muBEEn huSSAIn

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ollectorate of Customs Preventive Anti-Smuggling Organization (ASO) busted huge quantity of smuggled Iranian high speed diesel (HSD) and contraband items worth millions of rupees.

According to the details, the staff ASO conducted two different successful raids at RCD Highway near Mochko during which worth Rs8

million of the seized goods have been apprehended.

The ASO team, deployed at the RCD Highway near Mochko check post, intercepted a bowser bearing registration no: TMD-389 and inquired the driver about loaded items. On suspicion, the ASO ofVicer asked the staff for complete checking. During the checking, the ASO team recovered 35,000 liters of smuggled Iranian high speed diesel (HSD) worth millions of rupees, while the said Bowser has also been

taken into the custody. The second raid was also conducted at Mochko check post after intercepting the passenger coach Al HaViz, coming from the Quetta. During the checking of the passenger coach, the staff of the ASO found smuggled cigarettes of foreign brand. The smuggled cigarettes were concealed in secret places of the passenger coach.

Customs Preventive ASO has taken the smuggled cigarettes as well as thirty Vive thousand liters of Iranian HSD in to the custody.

brought to notice of this Directorate General that submersible pump with motor (plastic body) up to 100 watt are being imported and assessed at considerably lower values. Therefore, an exercise was initiated to determine the customs values of submersible pump with motor plastic body under Section 25A of Customs Act, 1969.

Meetings were held with the stakeholders on 21.03.2018 and 01.08.2018 and 04.09.2018.

pak rupee depreciates by 30 paisas he Pakistani rupee depreciated against the US currency in open market and closed firm in interbank. As per the local money market, the dollar gained 30 paisas in open market for buying at Rs124.40 and lost 10 paisas for selling at Rs124.90, while the dollar remained unchanged in interbank and closed at Rs124.10 for buying and Rs124.30 for selling.

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Hearing of heroin smuggling case against Czech model adjourned Friday September 14, 2018

Lahore

LAHORE: An additional district and sessions court has adjourned the hearing of a heroin smuggling case against Czech model Tereza Hluskova who was arrested at Lahore airport while allegedly trying to smuggle 9kg heroin.

The court adjourned the hearing by September 12 (tomorrow) after recording statement of a prosecution witness. The 21-year-old Tereza Hluskova was attempting to smuggle the heroin from Lahore to another country but intercepted by customs officials. During inspection it was revealed that she was carrying 9kg heroin with her.

customs Appellate Tribunal sets aside ono in potatoes import case LAHORE

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ustoms Appellate Tribunal has quashed show cause notice and accepted the appeals Viled by the three importers of potatoes. The appeals was Viled by M/s Hamza Traders, M/s M.A Sons and Qaiser Enterprises against collector of customs (Adjudication) Lahore and others.

Member Judicial bench-II Omar Arshad Hakeem, heard the stance of all three appellants and decided the case with order to set aside the Order-in-Original (ONO).

As per details of case, the core controversy was involved in the import of potatoes that importers illegally claimed the tax exemption. The audit was conducted by the Director

fBR launches Electronic Return for companies he Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) launched Electronic Return for Companies for Tax Year 2018, it is learnt here. The FBR said that the draft of certain further amendments in the Income Tax Rules, 2002 which the Federal Board of Revenue proposes to make in exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-Section (1) of Section 237 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 (XLIX of 2001), is hereby published for information of all persons likely to be affected thereby, as required by subsection (3) of said section and notice is hereby given that the draft shall be taken into consideration by the Federal Board of Revenue after seven days of its publication in the official Gazette. Any objection or suggestion which may be received from any person, in respect of the said draft, before expiry of the aforesaid period, shall be taken into consideration by the Board. –CB Report

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General Audit and found that no exemption of sales tax allowed on the sales of potatoes and short paid amount should be recovered from the importers.

After show cause notice, adjudication proceeding were culminated and order in original was passed with remarks that short paid amount of Rs 13,63, 003 with penalty of Rs100,000 recovered from the importer.

Being aggrieved, order was challenged before the Customs Appellate Tribunal on the grounds that order in original passed against the facts of case, the importer has paid their tax liabilities under the relevant laws and order in original passed beyond the law and same is liable to set aside. On the other side, the representative of department produced the all relevant documents and prays for the rejection of appeal.

fTo seeks record of case filed by m/s Abuzar Qasim against RTo LAHORE

SAJID nAwAZ

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ederal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Advisor Mian Munawar Ghafoor has heard a case Viled by proprietor of M/s Abuzar Qasim against the Regional Tax OfVice (RTO-II) Lahore. FTO has reserve the complaint for next date and called the parties with record.

During the proceedings of case on 7.9.2018, the counsel for the appellant argued that the RTO-II had failed to release the sales tax refunds to the appellant since last two years. He said the RTO-II collected excessive taxes from the company during the last two years. The petitioner approached the ofVicials concerned several times for the release of refunds, but the RTO ofVicials failed to clear refunds after the passage of a reasonable time.

minister says punjab tax reforms to raise confidence of masses

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rovincial Minister for Finance Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht has said that the Punjab government’s new tax reforms will surely raise the conVidence of the masses on their government.

“The circle of accountability will not merely be extended to those who don’t pay tax but also government will be held responsible for every penny which will be spent. Progressive system of tax collection will automatically urge the business community to pay their taxes. Nobody will be charged

unjust tax. Youth is indeed our real strength in New Pakistan. I just hope that the interns who have completed their internship in PRA will be able to convince their communities that paying tax is their moral duty and will play the true role of true ambassadors for the government of Punjab. We just need hope for a progressive Pakistan and our youth is “The Hope”,” he said.

He expressed these views while addressing the completion ceremony of the 4th Internship Program of Punjab Revenue Authority. –CB Report

Finally, the appellant decided to approach the FTO seeking intervention in this case. The counsel appealed the FTO advisor to direct the RTO-II to clear the refund claims on priority basis. The counsel further said that delay in release of refunds put burden on taxpayers, adding that the RTO-II should make audit of the case and release the extra amount collected

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by it from the taxpayer. Further prayed that Federal Tax Ombudsman may order to the Regional Tax Office to release taxpayer refund because taxpayers demanding their legal right. After hearing the arguments from both sides, advisor for advisor of Federal Tax Ombudsman save the arguments from appellant and called the both parties on next date of hearing.

customs Tribunal hears eleven cases he Customs Appellate Tribunal division bench-II heard eleven cases and adjourned all for different dates without those cases whose verdicts were reserved.

Customs Appellate Tribunal division bench-II, comprising Member Judicial Omer Arshed Hakeem and Member Technical Muhammad Saddiq heard all eleven case including three case Viled by M/s Fatima Fertilizers against the Directorate of Post Clearance Audit (PCA) Lahore, M/s Agilty Logistics versus Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (I&I) Lahore, M/s Numeric

Distribution against Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (I&I) Lahore. Furthermore, same bench heard appeals of Arslan Sadiq Bhatti versus Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (I&I) Lahore, Atif Khursheed versus Customs Multan, Collector Customs Multan versus Fotile Kitchens. Same bench heard cases Viled by Collector Customs Lahore versus Al- Tawakal Agency, Collector Customs Faisalabad versus Beacon Enterprises and Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (I&I) Lahore against Bio-link Tech. –CB Report

govt decides to amend finance bill to withdraw tax incentives

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LAHORE

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he federal government has decided to amend Finance Bill 2018 to withdraw tax incentives given to various income brackets and grant enforcement powers to Federal Board of Revenue for boosting revenue collection.

Sources said that it is also under consideration to tax immoveable assets into tax net and different proposals are under consideration to go ahead with this idea.

OfVicial sources said that the federal cabinet was expected to grant approval for increasing rate of regulatory duty on almost all tariff lines and it might go ahead with the imposition of one percent hike in addi-

tional custom duty for the purpose of discouraging imports. The regulatory duty can be increased with approval of cabinet and through issuance of Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) with the approval of Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet. The last Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) government had introduced an economic reform package under

which the taxable income ceiling was increased from Rs0.4 million to Rs1.2 million with the imposition of Vixed Rs1000 to Rs2000/year tax respectively and also reduced maximum rate of income tax from 30 percent to 15 percent on higher income brackets. This one step has excluded 1.2 million taxpayers from the tax net out of total 1.450 million return Vilers.

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ISLAMABAD

m fAIZAn

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he PTI-led government is all set to introduce a new budget where different measures are under consideration to enhance revenue, exports and curtail imports to reduce the trade deVicit, ease pressure on the local currency and narrow budget deVicit, by imposing one percent additional regulatory duty on non-essential items.

Sources told Customs Today that commerce division has reportedly prepared a list of non-essential items and the government is considering measures to rationalize non-essential imports to reduce the quantum of trade deVicit. Sources told that the government is likely to enhance regulatory duty on mobile imports and mobile phone handset prices are can be increased again. It is important to mention here that previous government had imposed a levy of up to Rs5000 on importing mobile phone handsets in the budget 2018-19 which came into effect from July 1, 2018, through Finance Act 2018. The objective behind the move was to curtail growing imports and generate additional revenue.

However, mobile phone import witnessed a phenomenal growth of 19.44 per-

cent or $847.654 million in the Viscal year 2017-18 as compared to $709.690 million during the same period of 2016-17.

According to the Finance Act 2018, smartphones of different categories are charged under the different criteria. The levy is zero where the import value of handset (including duties and taxes) does not exceed Rs10,000. There is a levy of Rs1000 per set where import value of handset (including duties and taxes) exceeds Rs10,000 but does not exceed Rs40,000. There is a levy of Rs3000 where the import value of handset (including duties and taxes) exceeds Rs40,000 but does not exceed Rs80,000. There is a levy of Rs5000 where the import value of handset (including duties and taxes) exceeds Rs80,000 per set. According to the Finance Act, a levy of Regulatory Duty (RD) @ Rs175/set on completely knocked down (CKD)/semi-knocked-down (SKD) kits of mobile phones had been imposed.

New budget is likely to be presented in the National Assembly on coming Friday, while Finance Minister Asad Umar had stated that the government is planning to introduce necessary changes in the Finance Act 2018 to make it more relevant to the current economic state of the country.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs Asad

Umar has said that LED and SMD lights have been listed as locally manufactured items through Customs General Order, therefore, beneVit of exemption from sales tax on imported lights and SMD lights is no more available.

In a written reply to question from Senator Tanvir Khan, the minister stated that exemption from sales tax is available on LED and SMD lights under S. No. 15 of Table-3 of the Sixth Schedule of the Sales Tax Act,1990.

However, exemption on imported LED and SMD lights are subject to the condition that these items are not listed locally manufactured items notiVied through a Customs General Order. He said tax on import of SMD and LED and their part, varies with respect to Vilers and non Viler, industrial undertaking, companies and other persons as is given in part II of the First Schedule to the Income tax Ordinance, 2001.

He further stated that under S. No. 15A of Table-3 of Sixth Schedule of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, exemption from sales tax is available to the parts and components for manufacturing LED lights including aluminum housing / shell for LED, metal clad printed circuit boards (MCPCB) for LED, constant current power supply for of LED Lights (1-300w) and lenses for LED lights.

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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

Economy: bits and bytes

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eyond a broad, ballpark type broad, understanding, my knowledge about “bytes” can be best described by one, absolutely amazing, word... nothing! There is no harm in admitting that I am a dinosaur in this information age, however, being a dinosaur does not mean that one should be an imbecile as well. So when this particular title was suggested for the “Three Bits on the economy-serial”, right when a news item popped into my social media horizon that IT could potentially generate billions of dollars over the next five years, it brought to fore a universal law, there are no accidents; hence here we are. On a lighter note, after my newspaper serial on “Profit” a few years ago also in Business Recorder which by the way went up to 26 articles, I seem to have embarked upon another newspaper serial, “Three Bits”; I wonder whether I can claim copyright on this particular genre of newspaper serials. On a serious note, those in the know how, need to focus on policies, and those in power need to direct government investment, to capitalize on Pakistan’s information technology potential. Given the size of our market, perhaps protectionism might even be the magic wand for spurring growth in the IT industry vis-à-vis domestically developed software; if learning from China is okay.

Alibaba and WeChat, being the proverbial case in point!

Funnily, while we love Chinese investment and claim that they are bestest of friends, we refuse to study and follow their economic policies and trade strategies. For that, we adore the American way, despite landing repeatedly in bigger economic messes every time because of their prescribed structural reforms!

Nonetheless, let’s leave the bytes to the professionals and hope they can come up with quick solutions, and move on to the more mundane world of economic bits.

Thank you everyone for the sordid critique over the suggestion to increase the minimum tariff to 30% last week; and/or thinking up strategies to match imports with exports. But unless any one has another brilliant idea to very quickly reduce the trade deficit, as in like immediately, welcome to the old reality.

All roads lead to the Imf T

LAHORE

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here are many articles that are being written about what Pakistan needs to do to get out of its economic morass, this author, on the other hand, takes a different view. The premise of this article is that Pakistan will enter an IMF programme and looks at what to do before enter the programme; our Vinancing options once we are in an IMF programme and what are the steps we will have to take during the programme.

While the economic literature abounds as to the pitfalls of the shock-free market economics of the International Financial Insti-

tutions (IFIs), the author believes that these institutions have learnt from their previous mistakes. Also the fact remains that Pakistan has few financing choices when it comes to the yawning gap that we face on the current account side. Assessing the situation from a political angle that IMF at this point would be a most convenient scapegoat to pass on difficult measures such as subsidy adjustments in electricity, agriculture, provincial financial imbalances and so on – all valid problems that need to handle irrespective of the lender or economic cycle. As for the help from “Friendly Countries”, our government can rest assured that they realize what our structural

shortcomings are, and that they need to be addressed for longterm progress to take place.

These friendly countries will be hardly willing to lend us a helping hand unless there is a tight leash – someone must protect their money and investment, and in the eyes of most of them the best guardian would be the IMF. If the mutterings in Islamabad are to be believed, this is the gist of what has been conveyed to our government by the Chinese government, no less – if they feel this way let us not dream about out of the way help from other fairweather friends.

I. Pre-programme steps: * The IMF latest staff report highlights demand pressures, in-

flation and interest rates as areas of concern. The staff report uses familiar language that should not be of any surprise to seasoned IMF programme watcher. It is rather sad that the issues discussed are the same as they were around 20 years ago, starting with the need to focus on demand pressures. In justifying the need for SBP to further tighten monetary policy in para 22, the IMF report states: “Staff recommends further tightening of monetary policy to slow domestic demand and import growth, strengthen demand for rupee financial assets, and mitigate the potential passthrough from the exchange rate adjustment to inflation.”

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FBR collects over Rs97b customs duty thru vehicle imports KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collected Rs97.1 billion as customs duty imposed on import of vehicles during the fiscal year 2017-18.

The imports of luxury vehicles have been remained unabated as customs duty collection surged by 24 percent. According to annual revenue collection report, the customs duty collected on import of vehicles increased to Rs97.1 billion during fiscal year 2017-18 as compared with Rs78.31 billion in the preceding fiscal year. It is interesting to note here that the government imposed various restrictions in order to reduce import bill through imposition of regulatory duty, cash margin restriction and requirement of health certificates.

court grants bail to Examining officer involved in mis-declaration scam KARACHI

m.B. RAnA

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he Customs Court granted pre-arrest bail to suspect namely Examining Officer of Customs Appraisement Mir Hammal Khan against the surety of Rs100,000, who was booked in four mega mis-declaration scam case.

Counsel for the suspects filed bail petition and argued that his counsel is innocent and was falsely implicated in this case, who is ready to face trial, therefore, court may grant him bail till final order in this case. After the hearing court granted him bail against the surety of Rs100,000. Court also issued notices to investigation officer and special prosecutor for customs department for next date of hearing. The suspect was also directed to appear before the court on next date of hearing or otherwise. According to the first information report, on a credible information received in di-

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Friday September 14, 2018

National

Shc issues notices on petition filed against IT on immovable property T

KARACHI

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he Sindh High Court has issued notices to the federal and provincial governments on a petition against the imposition of income tax on immovable property (real estate) by the federal government. Petitioner Ghulam Hussain Memon submitted that the federal government has imposed taxes, including capital gain tax and withholding tax or advance tax, on immoveable properties which was illegal and unconstitutional.

He submitted that citizens were paying various provincial and local government taxes, including tax on the transfer of immovable property by local councils under Part II of Schedule V of Sindh Local Government Act and they could not be subjected to double taxation by the federal as well as provincial government. The petitioner’s counsel Zamir Ghumro argued that the federal government has no power under the Constitution to impose income tax on real estate as it comes under the authority of the provincial government under Article 142 of

the Constitution and Entry 50 of the federal legislative list part I of the fourth schedule. He submitted that the tax was being realised from 2012 without lawful authority. He submitted that Constitution is clear on this point and the Supreme Court has already held that federal government has no power to levy tax on immovable property.

The court was requested to declare that the federal government has no jurisdiction to legislate in relation to the capital gain tax on immovable property and withholding tax on transfer/sale or purchase of immovable property and the act of receiving such tax by the federal government is illegal and in violation of the Constitution. The petitioner’s counsel also

sought a restraining order with regard to collection of tax by the federal government on immovable properties in the province and details of such recovery. After a preliminary hearing of the petition, the court issued notices to the federal and provincial governments, ministry of Vinance and others and called for their comments by September 27.

Appraisement East submits challan against m/s m.I. Traders rectorate general that certain importers are involved in import/clearance of used machinery items by mis-declaration of description and value aiming at evasion of leviable duty/taxes besides clearance of used items in violation of Appendix-C of the Import Policy Order, 2106. A team of customs officials re-examined the cleared consignments grounded containers and as a result of re-examination, gross mis-declaration of description was found besides clearance of undeclared/used banned items including used bench drill machine with motor, used tyres changer machine, used bar bending machine, used bakery mixer, used welding machine, iron and steel, remeltable crap consisting of drill, electric parts.

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nvestigation OfVicer of Customs Collectorate of Appraisement East submitted interim chargesheet to Customs Court against importers namely Muhammad Saleem son of Muhammad Hussain, Noor Ahmed son of Muhammad Hussain, Muhammad Ayaz Khan son of Sher Afzal, who were booked in a mega tax evasion case.

On September 6, 2018, Investigation OfVicer Ashfaq-ur-Rehman submitted interim challan and informed the court that M/s M.I Traders imported a consignment of Hazelnut Spread (Nutella) from Turkey and Viled goods for clearance. He said that a credible information was received in R&D section (Intelligence & Investigation Unit)

that M/s M.I. Traders has grossly mis-declared C&F value of the impugned goods submitting fake and fabricated import invoice & packing list and has succeeded in getting

clearance thereof evading precious government revenue.

He submitted that during the investigation, it was revealed that actual transaction C&F value of the im-

pugned goods is US$ 39,707.66 as against $17,236.80 mis-declared by the importers in their under reference import goods declaration and supported with a fake import invoice. He further informed that accused namely Muhammad Ilyas, partner of M/s M.I Traders and Muhammad Hanif son of Muhammad Hussain, importer/partner of Virm, are still absconders in this case and prosecution is trying its best to arrest them. According to the prosecution, a case was registered for evasion of duties and taxes through submission of fake and forged documents showing under invoiced/suppressed transaction value of the goods and violation of Section 32-A, 79, & 192 of the Customs Act, 1969 punishable under Clause 14A, 46 & 86 of Section 156 (1) of the Customs Act, 1969 read with allied laws.

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FBR beat Chattha Star in friendly cricket match Friday September 14, 2018

National court approves bail of suspect booked in betel nuts smuggling case

ISLAMABAD: FBR beat Chattha Star Club by 6 wickets in a friendly cricket match played here at the Chak Shahzad Cricket Ground, says a press release.

Batting first, Chattha Star Club scored 137 runs in the allotted 25 overs. Asim Khan scored 48 while Anwar Mehmood and Muhammad Arif made 35 and 27 runs respectively for the losing team.

FBR’s Naveed Ahmed claimed 4 wickets while Zahid Mehmood finished with 2 wickets.

customs Appellate Tribunal reserves verdict of case filed against Dg I&I

KARACHI

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he Customs Court granted bail to suspect namely Paras son of Naik Ram, who was booked in a case of attempting to smuggle non-duty paid betel nuts. Counsel for the suspect moved bail petition and argued that the case, as narrated in FIR, is that customs authorities received a secret on spot information that a considerable quantity of smuggled/nonduty paid arrived from Quetta and betel nuts has been dumped at the godown opp. Honda Company SITE, Sher Shah Karachi and would be moved from that place to another place shortly. On the pursuant information, a team of customs oďŹƒcials raided said place and recovered and seized entire betel nuts consisting of 3348 gunny bags containing 1,92,180 kilograms. Counsel argued that his client is neither mentioned in FIR nor in the challan and he is innocent and was falsely implicated in this case.

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Appraisement west generates Rs21535.78m ustoms Collectorate of Appraisement West generated Rs 21535.78 million during the month of August 2018 under the head of all duty and taxes. According to details, Appraisement West collected Rs21535.78 million in August which includes Rs9459.26 million under the head of custom duty (CD), Rs8695.38 million as sales tax (ST), Rs3297.71 million under the head of income tax (IT) and Rs83.43 million as federal excise duty (FED). Earlier in July, Collectorate of Appraisement West generated Rs21,954 million during the month of July 2018 under the head of all duty and taxes.

Appraisement West collected Rs21,954 million in July which includes Rs8,617 million as customs duty.

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ustoms Appellate Tribunal Member Technical Ziauddin Wazir reserved decision on cases submitted by M/s Degicel and M/s Kohinoor Chemical against Collectorate of Customs, Islamabad.

The bench heard cases Viled by M/s Degicell & others, M/s Kohinoor Chemicals, Mirza Muhammad Majid, M/s Fazal Razaq, M/s Fazal Ur Rehman and Gul Rehman & others. Mirza Muhammad Majid, M/s Fazal Razaq, M/s Fazal Ur Rehman and Gul Rehman & others had made Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation, Islamabad as respondent in the cases.

These cases were Viled by M/s Waseem Autos, M/s Nisar Traders,

M/s Parts & Parts, M/s Chief Autos, M/s Aman Elahi, M/s Kohinoor Traders, M/s Saleem Silk Centre,

M/s Five Star Trading, M/s Pakistan Royal Group and M/s Nayatel Private Limited. The appellants had

Viled cases against Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigations, Islamabad.

mianwali ASo seizes non-customs paid kerosene oil from m.m. Alam Road T

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nAEEm ShEIkh

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he Customs Anti-Smuggling Organization conViscated 10000 liters of smuggled Iranian diesel and Hino truck worth Rs3,90,0000 during special checking. Sources told Customs Today, that Assistant Collector Shah Samad Hamdani received information regarding smuggling of kerosene oil. Following the information, he formed a team comprising Superintendent Chaudhary Sardar Muhammad, Inspector Amir Mumtaz Bajwa, Tanveerul Haq, Driver Riasat Hussain and other to foil the smuggling bid. ASO team intercepted the Hino truck bearing registration no: C-9820 Swat near M.M Alam Road and recovered smuggled kerosene oil 10000 liters which was being transported from

Multan to Mianwali. The accused person who was later identiVied as Naveed Gul son of Abdul Hameed

failed to provide any relevant legal documents regarding import and transportation of kerosene oil The

ASO team conViscated the oil, besides impounding the Hino under the prevailing customs law.

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Customs Court extends remand of suspects involved in gutka smuggling KARACHI: The Customs Court extended physical remand of suspects namely Roi Muhammad son of Faiz Muhammad and Sadeeq Ullah son of Usman Ghani and sent them back to Pakistan Coast Guards. The suspects were booked in a case of attempting to smuggle non-duty paid One 2 One Gutka and other contraband goods.

Investigation officer produced the above mentioned suspects before the court and informed that during the checking, officials of the Pakistan Coast Guards intercepted a Hino truck and during checking recovered 9222 packets Gutkha and others contraband goods.

fTo hears appeal filed by owner of m/s khyber hotel against RTo Sargodha LAHORE

SAJID nAwAZ

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he Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) postponed the hearing of a case filed by owner of M/s Khyber Hotel against the Regional Tax Office (RTO) Sargodha until the next hearing. FTO Advisor Mian Munawar Ghafoor heard the case in which the counsel for the appellant argued that the RTO Sargodha has not released the refund to the appellant of the last two years. He said that the RTO Sargodha collected excessive tax from the appellant during the last two years. The company approached the officer concerned many times for issuance of the refunds but the department did not pay the refunds after the passage of a reasonable time.

Finally, the appellant decided to approach the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO), seeking interference in this case.

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The counsel appealed the FTO advisor to direct the commissioner of RTO Sargodha to clear the refund claims on priority basis. The counsel further said that the delay in issuance of refunds put burden on the taxpayers, adding that the RTO should make audit of the cases and release the extra amount collected by it from the taxpayer. On the other hand, counsel for the RTO argued that the appellant has not submitted all record in the office on basis of which it is claiming for refunds. If appellant provides accurate record, the RTO will issue the refunds if any after proper assessment, he added. After hearing the arguments from both sides, FTO Advisor adjourned the case and directed the parties to appear on the next date of hearing to present arguments in the case.

National

customs court seeks final challan of betel nuts smuggling case

Appraisement East collects over Rs39 billion as duties, taxes KARACHI

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ollectorate of Customs Appraisement East collected Rs 39358.6 million during the month of August under head of all duty and taxes.

According to details, Appraisement East collected Rs15028.03 million under the head of customs duty (CD), Rs17138.10 million as sales tax (ST), R 7042.26 as income tax (IT) and Rs150.24 as federal excise duty (FED). Earlier in the month of July, Collectorate of Customs Appraisement East generated Rs Rs40010.9 million under head of all duty and taxes. The Collectorate collected Rs15436.16 million under the head of customs duty, Rs17646.31 million as sales tax (ST), Rs6808.39 million under the head of income tax (IT) and Rs120.04 as federal excise duty (FED).

Earlier in June, Collectorate of Appraisement East generated Rs42,047 million, including Rs16,831 million a customs duty, Rs18,717 million as sales tax, Rs6,327 million as income tax and Rs173 million as a federal excise duty (FED). It is necessary to mention here that Collectorate of Appraisement East generated Rs444,186 million in the whole year of Fiscal Year 2017-18.

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he Customs Court directed investigation ofVicer to complete investigations and submit Vinal charge-sheet against suspect namely Syed Muhammad Akbar son of Syed Khuda Nazar, who was booked in a case of attempting to smuggle non-duty paid 15775 kilogram betel nuts.

During the hearing, investigation ofVicer submitted that investigations are under way and report will be submitted on next date of hearing.

The court also extended bail of suspects who are already on bail and adjourned the matter for next date of hearing. On last date of hearing, Investigation OfVicer Muhammad Mehmood produced the above mentioned suspects before the court along with Virst information report and informed that on credible information, ofVicials of the Pakistan Coast Guards intercepted Hino truck bearing registration number TLS913 and during the search, ofVicials recovered 15775 kilogram betel nuts from the truck.

He submitted that ofVicials asked him to produce legal documents on

Friday September 14, 2018

the spot; however, he failed to produce any lawful documents; therefore, after the formalities, said goods and truck were taken into custody and accused was also arrested. According to the prosecution, case was registered against above mentioned suspects for violation of under Section 2 (s) and 16, 156 (1) (8) (89) and 157 of the Customs Act, 1969.

Meanwhile, The Customs Court issued non bailable warrants against absconding suspect namely

Abdul Hadi son of Sultan Muhammad, who was booked in a case of attempting to smuggle non-duty paid betel nuts and other contraband goods. Investigation officer submitted a progress report and informed that investigations are underway and prosecution successfully conducting investigations; however, absconding suspect has not been arrested yet and will be produced before the court when arrested.

govt mulls ban on import of luxury vehicles, cheese

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ISLAMABAD

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he economic advisers, during the Virst meeting of the newlyformed Economic Advisory Council (EAC), discussed to ban imports of luxury cars, smartphones and cheese to avoid a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The EAC held its Virst session last week, chaired by Finance Minister Asad Umar, who took ofVice last month. A lull in Pakistani exports and a relative spike in imports has led to a shortage of dollars in the economy, putting pressure on the local currency and dwindling foreign cur-

rency reserves. That has prompted most Vinancial analysts to predict Pakistan will turn to the IMF for its 15th bailout since the early 1980s.

But Prime Minister Imran Khan has criticised a culture of dependency and his party´s ofVicials have expressed concerns that the reforms and austerity the IMF might demand would strangle promised government spending. Ashfaque Hasan Khan, a university professor who is one of more than a dozen EAC members, told Reuters that during Thursday´s meeting, the focus was on outside-the-box ideas that would help curb imports.

“I didn´t Vind any member (who)

suggested that Pakistan should go to the IMF because there is no other alternative,” he said.

“We need to take some actions.

‘Do nothing’ scenario is unacceptable.” He recently told the Senate that while Pakistan needs to meet a $9 billion Vinancing requirement, the IMF should only be a fallback option. Ashfaque said the more radical steps discussed were a yearlong ban on imports for cheese, cars, cell phones and fruit that could “save some $4-5 billion”.

A push on exports could generate up to $2 billion in extra inVlows, he added. “You see how much cheese is coming in this country from

abroad,” Ashfaque said.

“Does this country, which doesn´t have dollars, deserve this, that it is importing cheese?”

Last year, the previous government hiked tariffs by up to 50 percent on 240 imported items, including cheese and high-horsepower cars, and imposed regulatory duties on dozens of new imports. But no outright import bans were issued.

Asad Umar recently said Pakistan would not rule out asking “friendly nations” – usually code for historic allies China and Saudi Arabia – for assistance to avoid going to the IMF, as well as raising money on international debt markets.

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World Customs

Could crises in Turkey and Argentina hurt Asia?

Economic crises in Turkey and Argentina have led to talk of “contagion” – the danger of financial problems in one country spilling over into others.

Turkey has struggled with a falling currency and worsening relations with the US. A spiralling crisis in Argentina prompted the government to announce austerity measures and to ask the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an early release of a $50bn loan.

Friday September 14, 2018

china’s customs sent back 3,200 tonnes of waste paper

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Eleven arrested in greece on migrant smuggling charges reek police say they have arrested 11 people on suspicion of running a smuggling ring transporting hundreds of refugees and migrants from the Greek-Turkish land border to the cities of Athens and Thessaloniki over the past year. Police said the suspects – Armenians, Georgians and Greeks – had transported more than 360 people from the Greek side of the Evros River that runs along the border. Their alleged preferred method was to use luxury cars so as not to arouse suspicion, and often hid the people they were transporting in the trunks of the cars. Each migrant apparently paid roughly 600 euros ($740) euros to be transported from the border to Athens or the northern city of Thessaloniki. –CB Report

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total of 3,200 tonnes of waste paper has been rejected and sent back to its country of origin by Hangzhou Customs in the past month.

This has been done on behalf of Huzhou Customs. Up to customs ofVicials at Chinese ports had rejected 14 batches of waste paper. One of the largest of these returned shipments was 80 containers of waste paper that had been sent to Zhejiang Huzhou Port and.

Meanwhile, Chinese customs has seized 7.1 million items suspected of IP infringement in the Virst half of 2018, according to new data shared

by China’s ofVicial news agency Xinhua yesterday.

The data, from China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC), showed that most of the items (6.9

Saudi Arabia pledges $300m in aid to Sri Lanka

million) were suspected of infringing trademarks. Xinhua noted that China’s customs worked closely with its Russian counterparts between March and June to tackle IP infringements related to the FIFA World Cup 2018, which took place. The data showed that

more than 500,000 items related to the football tournament were seized by the two countries’ customs authorities. Zhang Guangzhi, spokesperson of the GAC, reportedly said that Chinese customs will continue to crack down on IP infringements.

Apple watch pride face is blocked in Russia by watchoS 5

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pple introduced the rainbowcolored Pride Apple Watch face, as well as a corresponding watch band, at WWDC back in June. But in recent weeks, observers have speculated as to why the Pride Watch face is not available in Russia. One developer appears to have found the reason, right in Apple’s own code.

Developer Guilherme Rambo discovered this week that “the Apple

Watch pride face is hardcoded to not show up if the paired iPhone is using the Russian locale,” according to code extracted from the latest watchOS beta release. Rambo is the same developer who also discovered the leaked “iPhone XS” photos this week. Apple has long put itself forward as an LGBTQ-friendly company, as Tim Cook is one of the few openly gay CEOs of a Fortune 500 company. –CB Report

audi Arabia has reportedly pledged $300 million in aid to Sri Lanka for water supply projects and agricultural, education and health sector development, according to Sri Lankan media outlets.

Saudi ambassador Abdul Nazar Al Hardi announced the assistance project to reporters during a visit to a road development project in Padiyatalawa in eastern Sri Lanka.

“We are happy to assist Sri Lanka and look forward to strengthening bilateral ties with Sri Lanka,” he said.

Sri Lanka has been actively seeking to improve ties with Saudi Arabia for the last several years, particularly in the tourism sector. In 2017, more than 50,000 Saudi nationals visited Sri Lanka. Additionally, the Saudi Fund for Development has been operating in Sri Lanka for more than 30 years, and recently funded a 200-bed hospital for epileptics in the capital of Colombo.

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Sri Lankan airlines also operates 18 return Vlights to Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam to cater to the Sri Lankan expatriate population in the kingdom, the largest Sri Lankan community in the Middle East. For all the latest business news from the UAE and Gulf countries, follow us on Twitter and Linkedin, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube page, which is updated daily. Meanwhile, The 1st International Contracting Conference and Exhibition (ICCE) dedicated to Saudi Arabia’s contracting sector is launching in Riyadh next week, where government authorities, regulators, and key industry players will join forces to develop the Kingdom’s $1.4tr construction market. The conference will take place from 16-17 September 2018 at the Riyadh International and Convention and Exhibition Centre. The two-day event is held under the patronage of HE Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi, Saudi’s Minister of Commerce and Investment.

Assos sets sights on unESco heritage tag rchaeological Site of Assos in Turkey’s northwestern Canakkale province is eyeing the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Assos, also known as Behramkale, was one of the most important port cities of the ancient age and possesses crucial cultural heritage from the region’s Roman period, including an antique theater, agora, necropolis and walls.

The site, located 17 kilometers (11 miles) south of Ayvacik district, was accepted in the UNESCO Tentative List of World Heritage According to the UNESCO website, Assos, as a signiVicant polis in the Archaic Period,

has maintained its important role in the region until the Byzantine times.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, head of the Assos excavations, Prof. Nurettin Arslan of Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, said the site has drawn the interest of foreign and domestic visitors. “I hope Assos will be included into the permanent list and get deserved place because the site becomes one of the popular center of our country not only with its archaeological remains, but also with village architecture, port, sea and nature,” Arslan said. He added many tourists visited the site in 2018 compared to the last year. –CB Report

Russian wheat export prices flat amid support from benchmark

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ussian wheat export prices Vinished last week unchanged as an early fall was offset by growth in the global benchmark in Chicago due to concerns about tightening supplies, analysts said.

The worries were focused on

speculation that new economic measures due to be announced by the Argentine government on Monday might include grain export restrictions, and that Russia may curb wheat exports later this season.

Russia’s agriculture ministry will discuss the grain market situation, production and export plans during a routine meeting with exporters.

Black Sea prices for Russian wheat

with 12.5 percent protein content were at $225 per tonne on a free on board (FOB) basis at the end of last week, unchanged from a week earlier, IKAR agriculture consultancy said in a note. SovEcon, another Moscowbased consultancy, and Thomson Reuters data quoted FOB wheat at $223 a tonne. Barley was Vlat at $231 a tonne, SovEcon said. The agriculture ministry is yet to release grain

export data for last week. By Aug. 29, Russia had exported 9.3 million tonnes of grain since the July 1 start of the 2018/19 season, up 35 percent from the same period the previous year, SovEcon said, citing customs data. This included 7.8 million tonnes of wheat. It raised its estimate for Russia’s August grain exports by 500,000 tonnes to 5.0 million tonnes due to rising exports.

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Full steam ahead for Global Ports despite swings in Turkish The world’s largest cruise port operator, whose directors include Lord Mandelson, has sought to reassure investors over its exposure to the crisis in Turkey (Alex Ralph writes).

Global Ports Holdings, which operates four ports in the country, said that the volatile currency moves were “relatively immaterial” to the company.

The update from the London-listed company came alongside its report that revenues rose 13.7 per cent to $56.6 million in the six months to June 30. Its underlying profit increased 8.5 per cent to $12.4 million and on a statutory basis it made a loss before tax of $2.1 million, down from $6.7 million a year earlier.

new terms to ‘govern’ Joint Saudi-kuwait khai oil field s Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are said to have reached an initial agreement over the potential resumption of production from AlKhai field, which is located in the neutral zone between the two countries, more detailed have emerged about the new agreement that will govern the deal, according to local media, report epmag.com A key detail of the new agreement is that production from Al- Khai field will be less than 50% of the field’s initial production capacity, following a four-month maintenance period after the field was mothballed due to the spat between the two neighboring countries. The neutral zone produces more than 470,000 barrels of oil per day (bbl/d) through onshore and offshore fields. The offshore Al-Khai field produces 250,000 bbl/d, while Al-Wafra field,

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which is an onshore field has a production capacity of about 220,000 bbl/d of Arabian heavy crude. According to the new agreement, the field will start production in early 2019 with a production capacity of 100,000 bbl/d instead of the 220,000 bbl/d. In addition, Saudi Aramco will have a smaller dedicated oil export area at Al-Zour port.

According to the details of the agreement published by Kuwait daily newspaper Al Anba, Saudi Aramco will get a dedicated export area at Al-Zour refinery of 1,800 sq m from the total area of the port which exceeds 14,000 sq m. The root of the issue dates back to 2014, when Saudi Arabia decided to shut down the Al Khai fields citing unspecified environmental issues. –CB Report

Ports & Shipping

northern uk ports prepare for freight boost after Brexit P

LONDON

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orts in northern England are preparing for an inVlux of freight as shipping companies seek alternatives to Dover after Brexit as fears mount of lengthy delays at the main sea links with the Continent. Uncertainty over the UK’s future trade relationship with the EU has led to predictions of long queues at busier harbours on both sides of the Channel after Britain leaves the bloc next March.

Associated British Ports is set to announce a £36m investment in its container terminal at Immingham on the Humber after spending £14m at nearby Hull last year. ABP plans to buy new cranes, tug boats and other facilities after a surge of inquiries from companies looking at alternatives to the Channel.

“Cargoes originally destined for ports such as Dover are moving increasingly north as trade partners look at alternatives to mitigate any difViculties the more traditional routes may experience in future,” the company said.

Immingham handled 183,000 container units in 2017, up from 68,000 units in 2013 and taking it close to its capacity. ABP predicted a further 50 per cent increase in trafVic by 2020. Nearby Hull is growing by more than 10 per cent annually and moved 109,000 units in 2017.

DFDS, a Danish group that is the second biggest shipping line serving the UK, is also expanding its own Immingham terminal, although it did not disclose investment Vigures.

And transport company Unifeeder is growing its network to

the north with new services recently introduced from Dunkirk and Antwerp to Teesport and from Rotterdam to the Port of Tyne.

Brexit checks threaten 17-mile trafVic jam Dover and the Channel tunnel in 2017 handled half the freight shipped by container and truck from the so called “short sea market” — an arc from Denmark to Portugal. That was 4.2m units, with 2.6m through Dover and 1.6m through the tunnel, according to government Vigures analysed by consultancy PRB Associates.

Friday September 14, 2018

Iran non-oil Trade with Qatar Doubles in four months ran traded 530,432 tons of nonoil commodities worth $104.43 million with Qatar during the first four months of the current fiscal year registering a 9.24% decline in tonnage and 96.13% jump in value compared with last year’s corresponding period. The latest data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration also indicate that Iran’s exports to Qatar stood at 530,323 tons worth $98.97 million, down 9.09% in tonnage and up 125.70% in value year-on-year. Hadi Haqshenas, the deputy head of Ports and Maritime Organization, said Qataris have called for improving maritime transport services between the southern port of Bushehr and Qatar’s Hamad Port, ILNA reported. Referring to the significant growth in maritime traffic between Iranian and Qatari ports, the official noted that Turkey and other countries can easily transport their goods to Qatar via Bushehr. –CB Report

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uS ports fear tariffs could reduce ship traffic, jobs WASHINGTON

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orts and ground terminals in nearly every state handle goods that are now or will likely soon be covered by import tariffs. Port executives worry that this could mean a slowdown in shipping that would have ripple effects on truckers and others whose jobs depend on trade.

The Associated Press analyzed government data and found that from the West Coast to the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, at least 10 percent of imports at many ports could face new tariffs if President Donald Trump’s proposals take full effect. Since March, the U.S. has applied new tariffs of up to 25 percent on nearly $85 billion worth of steel and aluminum and various Chinese products, mostly goods used in

manufacturing. For the Savannah ports, the AP data shows the value of all imports for 2017 was $64.2 billion. Tariffs vary depending on the product. The percentage of the value of the speciVic imports that are impacted ranges from less than one percent to 87 percent on iron and steel imports, according to the AP data. The percentage for the value of aluminum subject to tariffs is 75 percent. Savannah imported $1.7 billion in iron and steel products in 2017. Aluminum and aluminum product imports locally reached $1 billion in 2017.

Trump said in a recent tweet, “Tariffs are working big time.” He has argued that the tariffs will help protect American workers and force U.S. trading partners to change rules that the president insists are unfair to the United States. In New Orleans, port ofVicials say a tariff-related drop in shipments is real, not merely

a forecast. Steel imports there have declined more than 25 percent from a year ago, according to the port’s chief commercial ofVicer, Robert Landry. The port is scouting for other commodities it can import.

But expectations appear to be low.

“In our business, steel is the ideal commodity,” Landry said. “It’s big, it’s heavy, we charge by the ton so it pays well. You never Vind anything that pays as well as steel does.” The port of Milwaukee imports steel from Europe and ships out agricultural products from the Midwest.

Steel imports haven’t dropped yet because they are under long-term contracts, said the port director, Adam Schlicht. But there has been “an almost immediate halt” in outbound shipments of corn because of retaliatory duties imposed by the European Union on American products. Much of the corn, he said, “is just staying in silos. They are Villed

to the brim.” Most other ports have been humming along and even enjoyed an unexpected bump in imports during June and July as U.S. businesses moved up orders to ship before the new tariffs took effect.

That started with manufacturing goods and is now spreading to retail items for back-to-school and Christmas. “Some of my retail customers are forward-shipping the best they can to offset proposed tariffs,” says Peter Schneider, executive vice president of T.G.S. Transportation, a trucking company in Fresno, California. Port ofVicials were encouraged by this week’s announcement that the United States and Mexico had reached a preliminary agreement to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, hoping it might lead to reduced trade barriers. Canada’s participation in any new deal to replace NAFTA, though, remains a major question mark.

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Ahad Cheema’s remand extended till Sept 26 LAHORE: An accountability court has extended until September 26 judicial remand of Lahore Development Authority’s former director general Ahad Khan Cheema and another accused allegedly involved in Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme scam. As proceedings commenced, the jail authorities produced Ahad Khan Cheema and Bismillah Engineering owner Shahid Shafiq before the court. The court extended the judicial remand of the accused directing investigation officer of the case to submit his report on next hearing. The NAB authorities had arrested six persons, including former LDA DG Ahad Khan Cheema, Bismillah Engineering Company.

Friday September 14, 2018

Business

nAB ordered not to humiliate suspects ISLAMABAD

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he treatment meted out to suspects of corrupt practices during investigations by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) came under the spotlight again in the Supreme Court on Tuesday when Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar regretted about the humiliating attitude during probes.

A three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by the chief justice, which had taken up a case relating to Rs600 billion corruption in the liqueVied natural gas (LNG) contract, said NAB could investigate, but it should treat the suspects with re-

Dar’s local property seized, nAB tells Sc KARACHI

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spect and honour as it had no right to ridicule the suspects. In his petition, journalist Asad Kharral had alleged that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority being the competent forum was ignored to decide LNG

govt to keep check on social media through fIA

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ational Accountability Burau (NAB) prosecutor informed the SC that the former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s local property has been seized while they were trying to find out his foreign assets. Attorney General of Pakistan Anwar Mansoor on Tuesday informed the SC that consultations are underway with concerned departments regarding bringing Ishaq Dar back. A three-member bench of the SC headed by CJP Mian Saqib Nisar resumed hearing a case pertaining to Dar’s return to the country.

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prices and 20 shipments of LNG were procured on spot without a government-to-government agreement. While hearing a case relating to delay in contruction of the multibillion Orange Line Metro Train

project, the chief justice had cautioned the accountability watchdog that no citizen or bureaucrat should be harassed or humiliated and no hindrance to any public project should be put in place simply because NAB was seized with an inquiry. The chief justice even had a meeting with NAB Chairman Javed Iqbal recently and asked him to maintain secrecy till the filing of the references against any individual so that no embarrassment was caused to anyone. The chief justice, without naming a businessman, son of a renowned and deceased lawyer, narrated how the latter fell over his feet the other day and explained in a choked voice about the treatment he had to undergo during a probe conducted by NAB in some corruption cases.

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ISLAMABAD

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inister of State for Interior Shehryar Afridi has said social media, which was Vlourishing in the country with each passing day, would be handled in a professional manner while the cyber wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) would be further strengthened to keep a check on it.

He vowed to ensure capacity building of the FIA ofVicers to improve its performance. The agency,

dedicated to deal with cases relating to corruption, human trafVicking, smuggling, economic and cybercrime etc, would be equipped with modern and innovative technologies, the state minister added.

Addressing a formal press meet, Afridi said, “If we want to run the FIA effectively we need to equip it as per modern requirements and make its a force skillful and trained.”

The minister during his interaction with media persons replied queries regarding national security, civil-military ties, passport offices, National Database and Reg-

istration Authority (NADRA), Balochistan and ongoing operation against encroachment in the federal capital.

The minister assured media that the performance of NADRA and passport offices would improve, adding that a web portal was being developed in the Ministry of Interior to monitor their workings.

“Assisted by secretary and additional secretary level officers, I will personally check the portal in ordered to get complaints of the people addressed,” Afridi said. “We are well aware of the issues.

Auto sales decline 20% in August KARACHI

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uto sales declined 20% in August 2018 compared to the same period of previous year, which came on the back of a steep fall in sales of low-priced vehicles which included Pak Suzuki Motor’s Mehran and Ravi. Pak Suzuki Motor Company, which excels in catering to the demand for cars of below 1,000cc engine capacity, recorded a significant decline in sales, with volumes down 27% to 8,683 units on a year-on-year basis. Its Ravi and Mehran variants showed a heavy decline in sales with 50% and 42% respectively. However, Wagon-R demand grew 11%. “This is the first time auto sales have declined in first two months of a fiscal year since FY15. Pak Suzuki sales declined 12% in the two months, which is the highest fall among its peers,” research analyst Daniyal Adil said. Market talk suggests Pak Suzuki may stop producing Mehran in 2019 after 30 years of its launch and replace it with Alto 660cc.

Meanwhile, Indus Motor, which sells Toyota cars in Pakistan, reported a 9% fall in sales in August.

However, the company managed to achieve 3% higher volume at 10,486 units in the first two months of the fiscal year.

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SEcp opens facilitation centre in gwadar KARACHI

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he registration of business is a primary need of investors and in order to meet this need, the SECP has opened a fully equipped and state-of-theart facilitation center in Gwadar.

The SECP has taken many steps to facilitate the business community. The SECP is one of the pio-

neer government departments that has provided facility to local as well as foreign business community at their doorstep in Gwadar Free Zone. The CPEC is a mega project, which is rightly considered a game changer, and it is very attractive for the local and foreign investors. Being a vibrant and proactive organization, the SECP extends utmost facilitation to all investors and it is a matter of pride that the SECP reg-

isters a company within four hours of filing of complete documents. The registration of company within four hours is in line with the government’s initiative to provide ease of doing business in Pakistan.

The SECP has provided online and physical filing facility for incorporation of companies. The standard documents, including Memorandum and Article of Association of various sectors are

available on the SECP website.

The fee for online registration of a company is very nominal, i.e. only Rs1,550. The free for physical registration is Rs3,000. The payment of fee can be made through credit/debit card. The registration with FBR is simultaneously made on registration of company and there is no need to visit the FBR to obtain NTN. Now there is no need to obtain digital signature for filling of documents. The SECP pro-

vides free of cost copies along with registration certificate of necessary forms/documents that are required by the company for opening of bank account etc. The SECP recently introduced a new concept of limited liability partnership (LLP). It combines the flexibility of a general partnership and the advantages of limited liability of a company. It is very useful for the business community, especially for small investors.

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Govt asked to withdraw cotton import duties KARACHI: The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) has asked the government to withdraw duty and taxes on cotton imports because of expected short crop which will leave a huge gap of around four million bales between demand and supply.

The caretaker government had imposed a 3 per cent customs duty, 2pc additional customs duty, 5pc sales tax and 1pc income tax on import of cotton. In support of their demand, the KCA pointed out that after the payment of heavy duties and taxes, the cotton import would become costlier and push up prices of end products like value-added textile goods.

women empowerment & entrepreneurship’ problems discussed

Friday September 14, 2018

Chambers

Bmg candidates to triumph with huge margins: Siraj Teli

RAWALPINDI

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coffee morning was arranged

by Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) for women entrepreneurs to discuss the issues and hurdles to economic empowerment of women here at chamber house yesterday. Ambassador of Nepal Sewa Lamsel Adhikari was the chief guest on the occasion.

The function was largely attended by the businesswomen from the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and the Potohar region. The basic aim of the function was to create awareness among the women about the opportunities available in the business sector besides providing

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them opportunity to present their problems. Speaking on the occasion, Nepal envoy Sewa Lamsal said that the Nepal government supported Pakistan’s efforts to increase regional trade and investment. Both countries enjoy good relations and Pakistan and Nepal have strong historical relationship due to old Gandhara civilisation, she added. “The lives of Pakistani women are changing rapidly. It will be vital for a prosperous Pakistan to facilitate an environment which provides enough economic opportunities to engage women,” she said. She lauded RCCI for establishing Women Business Incubation Center (WBIC) to help women entrepreneurs to establish and run their own businesses. She assured her full support and cooperation in this regard. RCCI president Zahid Latif Khan in his address said that creating opportunities and empowering women in entrepreneurship had always been Chamber’s priority.

KARACHI

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hairman Businessmen Group & Former President Karachi Chamber Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Siraj Kassam Teli has said that all 15 candidates of Businessmen Group (BMG) will win KCCI annual election 2018-19 with huge margins and the opposition will face forfeiture of their security deposits as majority of the business and industrial community has extended overwhelming support to BMG. “BMG, which since its inception in 1998, has been effectively governing KCCI under the policy of ‘Public Service’ and has transformed this Chamber from a Vinancially strained institution to a self-sustainable, stable and stronger organization”, he added while addressing a press conference in a local hotel.

Vice Chairmen BMG & Former Presidents KCCI Tahir Khaliq, Zubair Motiwala, Haroon Farooki and Anjum Nisar along with President KCCI Muffasar Atta Malik, Senior Vice President Abdul Basit Abdul Razzak, Vice President Rehan Hanif, Former President AQ Khalil, all 15 contesting candidates, Former

Presidents, managing Committee members and BMG supporters were also present on the occasion. Siraj Teli pointed out that Leader of United Businessmen Group (UBG) of FPCCI S.M. Muneer, who initially extended support to BMG, recently made a U-turn and announced to support BMG’s opponent Group led by AKD and Maqsood Ismail.

However, this U-turn was undoubtedly, a ‘blessing in disguise’ as it went in our favor by encouraging many others to come forward to support BMG, its leadership and candidates who never make

such U-turns and do exactly what they say or commit in all types of circumstances. Highlighting the overall strength and support being enjoyed Businessmen Group, he said that many trade associations, industrial town associations, commercial markets’ Associations, hundreds of small traders, leading businessmen and industrialists have extended wholehearted support to BMG in the forthcoming elections and they are being requested once again to make sure they come to cast their votes and be counted. In this re-

IccI seeks allocation of land for new industrial zone ISLAMABAD

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delegation of CBR Housing Society led by its President Altaf Bhutt visited Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry and met with Sheikh Amir Waheed, President ICCI to discuss various possibilities of joint ventures with the Chamber. Muhammad Naveed Senior Vice President and Nisar Mirza Vice President ICCI, Zubair Ahmed Malik Chairman Founder Group, Khalid Qureshi, Khalid Chaudhry and others were also present in the meeting.

Speaking at the occasion, Altaf Bhutt, President, CBR Housing Society said that the current government was planning to build 5 million low cost houses in the country and added that CBR Housing Society

in cooperation with ICCI could help the government in materialization of its plan. He said CBR Housing Society could also consider building a separate block for ICCI members based on their interest. He said the growth of around 334 industries was linked with real estate sector and added that promotion of this sector would give boost to industrial development in addition to creating plenty of new jobs.

Altaf Bhutt said that a 200 bed welfare hospital was constructed in CBR Housing Society that was providing free treatment to 50 percent patients.

He said 7000 to 8000 kanal land has been acquired for the Phase-II of CBR Housing Society while the Society has set the target of acquiring 20000 kanal land for this project. He said Kashmir Sweet Homes would be constructed in Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir on the pattern of Sweet Homes in Pakistan.

He gave a detailed brieVing to the business community about the state of development in Phase-I and Phase-II of CBR Housing Society. Addressing the delegation, Sheikh Amir Waheed, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that a new industrial zone was required to be built on the CPEC route in Islamabad and stressed that CDA should allocate land at a suitable place for the project. He said that the prevailing building byelaws of CDA were a hurdle in industrialization in the federal capital that needed to be upgraded according to the needs of current days. Sheikh Amir Waheed said that an IT Tower was needed in Islamabad as this region has great potential for IT businesses. He stressed that CDA in consultation with all stakeholders should bring further improvements in its building byelaws to promote real estate activities and industrialization.

gard, a noteworthy development recently took place when Businessmen Panel (BMP), which opposes UBG in FPCCI and is being led by Mian Anjum Nisar from Lahore, also announced unconditional support to BMG. The support was declared by BMP Karachi representatives Mian Zahid Hussain, Zakria Usman, Shaukat Ahmed, Nasir Hayat Magoo and 20 other leading businessmen who arrived at a dinner reception to announce the unconditional support to BMG in KCCI’s Elections.

IccI organizes Jashan-e-Azadi mushaira he Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry in collaboration with Ashara Tanzeem Pakistan organized a Mushaira to highlight the importance of Jashan-e-Azadi. Prominent poets of the region including Dr. Mazhar Abbas Rizvi, Dr. Nazir Tabassum, Dr. Faisal Aziz, Dr. Farhat Abbas, Qazi Mohammad Asghar, Ali Abbas, Junaid Azar, Abbas Hashmi, Athar Zia, Shahbaz Chohan, Aslam Sagar, Ms. Shazia Akbar, Ms. Gina Qureshi and Ms. Bushra Saeed participated in the Mushaira. Muhammad Naveed Malik Senior Vice President and Nisar Mirza Vice President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Zafar Bakhtawari, Baser Daud were also present in the Mushaira.

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FIA, NAB uncover 28 illegally residential colonies in Tando Allahyar HYDERABAD: A joint investigation by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Sindh government’s AntiCorruption Establishment (ACE) discovered that 28 residential colonies in Tando Allahyar were built without official approval.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Abdul Hafeez Laghari informed the media that after a meeting of the officials from the three agencies, a list of the unapproved housing societies was compiled for action.

Friday, September 14, 2018

CUSTOMS BULLETIN

‘customs to establish separate directorate general to handle cpEc related trade’ QUETTA TARIQ DERYA

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n order to efViciently handle the Vlow of cargo through CPEC, the Pakistan Customs is establishing a dedicated Directorate General for the purpose to handle CPEC related activities, however Quetta Customs will continue to assist the relevant authorities till establishment of the Directorate General.

These views were expressed by Collector Ashraf Ali during an exclusive interview with Customs Today. He said continuous engagement with the stakeholders in the process of reforms and clearance practices is hallmark of the Quetta Collectorate.

He added the local traders are in close contact with all relevant customs staff while local chamber of commerce and trade associations are always well represented in the various functions of the Collectorate which enables both the Customs and traders to exchange views on issues of mutual interest.

The ofVicers of the Quetta Customs are always present in meetings of the chamber and all assistance is being extended to the

traders for resolution of their genuine demands. Collector Ashraf said the friendly relationship between trade and the customs department help in sorting out hurdles in the way of smooth Vlow of legitimate trade. Collector Ashraf said that

Customs Quetta is planning to expand the jurisdiction of customs control to inaccessible areas by establishing customs stations en route, improve the quality of the work through stricter controls, make the customs processes trans-

parent, expand the scope of non-intrusive inspections, use of technology for speedy clearance of goods, expand the coverage of the Customs Computerized System (WeBOC) and data based risk management system for providing a secure business

environment for sustainable economic development of the country.

Answering a query regarding revenue performance, he said that MCC Quetta received 16% extra revenue against assigned revenue collection target under the head of customs duty (CD) during first two months of current financial year 2018-19. He added MCC Quetta received Rs 1532.091 million under head of customs duty against assigned revenue collection target of Rs 1323.00 million for first two months (July to August) Fiscal Year 2018-19. Ashraf Ali said MCC showed 44% increase under the head of sales tax (ST) against assigned revenue collection target for the above-said period while showed 18% hike against assigned revenue collection target under head of federal excise duty (FED).

The collector said MCC showed 34% increase against assigned revenue collection target under head of withholding tax (WHT) during said period, to concluding the exclusive talk he added that MCC received Rs4205.267 million of net revenue under head of all duty taxes during first two month of FY18-19 against assigned revenue collection target of Rs.3233 million with increase of 30% against assigned revenue collection target for said period under same heads.

gwadar ASo seizes huge quantity of nDp goods worth Rs4m GWADER

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ollectorate of Customs Anti-Smuggling Organization (ASO) along with FC- jointly intercepted huge quantity of smuggled goods worth of Rs.4 million on 6.9.2018.

Collector Yakoob Mako told Customs Today that he received credible information

that huge quantity of non-customs paid goods were being transported from Quetta. He immediately constituted ASO squad under the supervision of Deputy Collector Ihsan Shah which established check posts in different areas and started checking pf vehicles.

The squad intercepted four buses. During the search the ASO staff recovered 600 kilograms of betel nuts, Pan Parag 162,000 sachet, 260 tyres, 11 cartons of ball bearing, used auto parts 4 bags, Chinese salt (15 bags) and Iranian diesel

Published by M S Raza Off# 42, 3rd Flr Gull Plaza M.A Road Karachi, Printed by (Ibne Hassan Offset Printing Press, Shop No. 33 to 36 , Hockey Stadium, Karachi).

61000 liters. During checking no one claimed the ownership of the goods which were seized by customs staff. Sources told that market value of smuggled goods is Rs4.1 million.

Sources told that all these goods were brought to State Warehouse and ASO squad after registering a case of smuggling started further investigations. It is necessary to mention here that Collector Yaqoob Mako directed all antismuggling squads to adopt zero tolerance policy towards smuggling.