Updated units of measurement issued by Pakistan Customs

The Pakistan Customs, acting on the directives of Federal Board of Revenue Chairman Syed Muhammad Shabbar Zaidi, has announced and issued new units of measurement used in imports and exports.

Muhammad Irfan, spokesman for the Customs, said on Tuesday that on directions of the FBR chairman, the Customs Wing has updated and issued the units of measurements used in import and export document in order to ensure proper valuation of goods.

This action will further improve consistency, transparency and uniformity in data capturing as per international standards. All field operations collectors have been guided to ensure implementation.

The World Customs Organisation recommends use of standard units of quantity to facilitate the collection, comparison and analysis of international statistics, based on the harmonised system of commodity description.

Standardisation and harmonisation of units of quantity also constitute effective measures for standardising and facilitating the transmission of data by means of electronic data interchange.

The standard units of measurement were previously notified by the Federal Board of Revenue in the year 2012. The World Customs Organisation had issued updated recommendations subsequently, but the same were not updated by FBR in the last seven years.

The updated units of measurement issued vide CGO 15/2019 dated 13.09.2019 will facilitate legitimate trade, while eliminating discretions and data distortions in the application of units of measurement.

The updated units of measurement have been notified and will become binding for all field formations of Customs as well as importers/exporters. No document, including Goods Declaration (GD), shall be accepted after 30th September, 2019, if the information regarding units of quantity declared/shown is not in accordance with aforementioned Customs General Order.

The valuation system has also been aligned with the updated units of measure by customs operations in the field to ensure trade facilitation and smooth cargo clearances accordingly.