20000118

KCAG plea to include

in ECS imported raw

material for own use

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The Karachi Customs Agents Group (KCAG) has suggested that all industrial consumers importing raw material for their own use should be included in the new Express Clearance Scheme to be introduced by Customs from February 1, 2000.

Nasim Yousuf, General Secretary, KCAG, has welcomed the new scheme and said that it should be extended to the import of all items chargeable to Customs duty up to 15 percent ad.val, in addition to items of specific rate of duty. Further, it should cover items imported from reputed multinational manufacturers such as BASF, Hoechst, ICI, IBM and Philips etc.

He also suggested that valuation objections may not be raised on the consignments which are entitled to avail of the express clearance facility. The facility may not be extended to any imports where the benefit of any SRO is claimed, he added.

The KCAG secretary said that duplicate, triplicate and exchange control copies should be signed by the concerned customs officers; because these documents will not be accepted by the tax departments and State Bank of Pakistan.

It has been proposed that the importers should be given option to use one or both the clearance schemes such as Express Clearance Scheme (ECL) and Express Lane Facility (ELF) now in use for examination of goods. It said that in many cases the importer believes that the price declared on the invoice is 100 percent genuine and correct and the assessment is claimed under correct classification and at the same time he does not want to get his goods cleared without examination.

Nasim sought amendment in para 6 of the Express Clearance Scheme and suggested that the bills of entries found unfit for the scheme after a random checking should be returned to clearing agents for normal processing by the concerned group under the existing system.