Pakistan’s Faceless Customs Assessment (FCA) system, launched as a key anti-corruption and digital transformation initiative by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), has failed to meet its objectives, according to an internal review committee report.
Business Recorder reported that the review committee’s final analysis, covering data from July 2024 to April 2025 and comparing it to the period before FCA’s implementation, found that clearance times have increased despite a reduction in documentation requirements. The report attributes this to a rise in examinations, escalations to higher officers, lab test calls, and multiple layers of review by Principal Appraisers and Assistant Collectors.
“The decrease in document calling was negated by more examinations, referrals, and reviews, leading to longer overall dwell times under FCA clearances,” the report stated.
Furthermore, the report highlights a decline in assessment quality, with a significant increase in first and second review filings, indicating more errors at the Assessing Officer level. This deterioration has hampered revenue growth, with additional customs revenue falling from 16% to 13% after FCA’s introduction, undermining Pakistan’s efforts to meet its fiscal targets.
While the report acknowledges that various factors such as import volumes and commodity mix affect revenue collection, it found no exceptional improvement under FCA.
The committee also criticised two core FCA design elements: concealing trader information from Assessing Officers and abolishing specialized assessment groups. These concepts were previously tested and discarded 20 years ago with the Pakistan Customs Automated Clearance System (PACCS) due to limiting officers’ ability to conduct thorough assessments and increasing clearance times.
Based on these findings, the committee recommended halting any further FCA rollout until its effectiveness is verified or its fundamental design is revised. It urged Pakistan Customs to audit high-risk sectors like vehicle imports, commercial fabric, and chemicals to assess any overlooked revenue losses.
The FCA was introduced to curb collusion between importers and customs officers, presumed to cause revenue leakage. However, the report suggests either the FCA is ineffective at preventing such collusion or that the collusion’s impact on revenue was minor, as no significant revenue gains have followed FCA’s enforcement.
Senior Customs officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, criticised the rushed and poorly planned FCA rollout. They noted the unrealistic expectation that appraisers could efficiently handle diverse goods declarations across sectors within strict timelines.
They also pointed out that the system lacks integration with essential databases like the IRS, and criticized the decision to launch FCA first at Karachi port rather than testing it in Lahore or Rawalpindi, where issues could have been resolved before a wider rollout.
Sources said the FCA has weakened pre-clearance controls, making it ineffective in achieving its goals. They stressed the need for integration with advanced IT solutions, recruitment of well-trained staff, removal of corrupt employees, and strengthening post-clearance audits to improve efficiency and revenue collection.
