The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has suspended the 0.25% penalty on the declared value of goods, pending the issuance of a formal notification under Section 82 of the Customs Act, 1969, Business Recorder reported, citing sources.  Â
The decision was made to ease the burden on customs clearing agents, who were facing difficulties due to the absence of an official announcement.
The FBR had initially planned to introduce amendments to this section to reduce port congestion and minimize dwell time by imposing penalties. The proposed changes would have made goods owners liable for penalties if goods declarations were not filed within 10 days of the arrival of goods at a customs station, for home consumption, warehousing, or transshipment.
The proposed amendments also outlined that goods should be removed from the customs station within three days of the assessment and berthing of the vessel, in the case of goods declarations filed before the vessel’s arrival. For declarations filed after berthing, goods should be removed within three days of clearance.
The Association of Customs Agents had raised concerns with the FBR and Pakistan Customs about these provisions, prompting the temporary halt in penalty enforcement.
