AVN Report
ISLAMABAD: Replacing the previous requirement of Revolving Insurance Guarantee, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued a directive to Customs agents, brokers, and transport operators operating in Pakistan to furnish bank guarantees as a financial safeguard for Afghan transit goods.
As per the FBR’s recently released SRO 1396(I)/2023 by the FBR, the bank guarantee will include all applicable import levies.
Under these new provisions, the Customs Department of Pakistan will release goods only upon submission of a bank guarantee, the value of which must equate to the total duty and taxes associated with the imported goods entering Pakistan.
The FBR has introduced proposed amendments to the Customs Rules, 2001, through a notification.
According to the amended regulations financial security in the form of a bank guarantee to be provided by Customs agents, brokers and transporters must be procured from a scheduled bank and strictly adhere to the prescribed format (Appendix-IV) or any other format specified by the board, with a minimum validity period of one year.
The bank guarantee, en-cashable within Pakistan, serves as an assurance for fulfilling any obligations arising from Customs transit operations conducted between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The determination of the bank guarantee amount for transit operations will be based on assessments made by the Customs Computerized System or the assessing officer at the departure office, ensuring comprehensive coverage of all import levies, as stipulated by the FBR.
The designated Customs officer will detach the bank guarantee and enter its particulars into the system, validating that the importer or their authorised customs agent has procured the bank guarantee from a scheduled bank, that it can be encashed within Pakistan, and that its contents align precisely with the consignment’s specifics for which it is being furnished.
Furthermore, the officer will ensure that the bank guarantee accurately covers the duty and taxes applicable to vehicles or goods, as per the calculations of the system or assessing officer, as detailed by the FBR.
