FBR doubles increases charges on goods clearance

Lahore, 23rd June: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has increased its service charges to nearly double what it was charging earlier on the clearance of imported items and goods under the Pakistan Automated Clearance System (PACS) and the Web Based One Customs (WeBOC). Following the revision of the service charges on the clearance of a goods declaration (GD) have gone up from Rs250 to Rs500. The business community has raised its concern that this move will adversely affect the country’s imports and industries.
On the side, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) former president Zubair Malik pointed out that the cost of goods production was already high and this extra cost introduced in the budget for 2019-20 would badly damage the industrial sector and the overall economy.
An increase of 100% in clearance charges would adversely impact goods trade because the cost of imported goods, including raw material, would increase 2 fold, he said. “The production cost of Pakistani goods will also increase due to which locally produced goods will become uncompetitive in the international market,” he said.