FBR asked to decentralise goods declarations

PESHAWAR: Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry has asked Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to review the recent decision of centralization of Goods Declarations (GDs) in Karachi, as that is causing difficulties for the business community due to delay in processing.

In a press statement issued here, Senior Vice President of Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi said businessmen, especially those operating through upcountry dry ports such as Peshawar, are facing practical difficulties due to this new system of GDs processing.

“Under the current system, all Goods Declarations (GDs) are routed to the Central Assessment Unit in Karachi, even if they are filed at local dry ports,” explained Zia, who also holds the office of President Frontier Customs Clearing Agents Association. This centralization has resulted in delays in clearance, as local agents cannot directly communicate with the assessing officers in Karachi in case queries or objections are raised,” he added.

Zia said the response time had been increased, which was causing extra costs in the form of demurrage, detention, and storage charges.He mentioned that findings of a report by the Directorate General of Customs Risk Management documented a sharp rise in customs processing times under the FCA regime.

“For goods declarations (GDs) that were assessed but not physically examined, the average time surged by 57 per cent, climbing from 25 hours per GD in July 2024 to 46 hours by April 2025”, said the report. “These issues place an unfair burden on regional businesses and discourage the use of dry ports, which were established to make trade easier for remote areas,” Zia observed.

In light of these challenges, the chamber requested FBR for decentralization of the Faceless Assessment System by setting up regional assessment units at major dry ports such as Peshawar, Quetta, and Multan.

Zia said these units should be empowered to conduct assessments digitally, while following the same rules and transparency standards as the central system.“We suggest improving the WeBOC platform to allow clearing agents to respond to objections, submit clarifications, and upload documents in real-time, with a fixed response timeline from customs officers,” he added.Zia hoped that would help avoid long delays and also align with the government’s broader goals of promoting ease of doing business and inclusive economic growth across all provinces.