Visitors’ entry into customs banned

KARACHI: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Shabbar Zaidi on Monday banned entry of visitors at the Customs House.

FBR chairman took notice of presence of a large number of visitors at the customs and therefore he ordered the customs wing “to strictly restrict entry into the Customs House only to the concerned traders, their authorised representatives and members and relevant trade bodies/associations,” an official statement said. The customs would issue instructions to its field formations for immediately banning entry of all visitors.

“The visiting hours for traders and their authorised representatives for fulfillment of needed legal formalities in cases involving second review before assistant / deputy collectors shall be limited from 10:00 Am to 1:00 PM,” the statement added. Pakistan Customs operates a web-based one customs (WeBOC) system to facilitate the trade documentation. The system is available 24/7 and allows online submission and processing of documents as well as electronic payments of duty and taxes.

The WeBOC also reduced need for traders and their representatives to physically visit offices of the customs.