For the transportation of transit trade cargo and bilateral commodities between Pakistan and Tajikistan, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has granted full access to Tajik exporters to Pakistani ports in its new regulations.
The FBR published a procedure on Friday for the Customs Computerised System’s processing of transit trade cargo and bilateral commodities between Pakistan and Tajikistan through the notified ports.
The FBR has released SRO 560 (I)/ 2023 to notify Friday’s notification of the Tajikistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Rules 2023.
FBR’s SRO notifies Tajikistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Rules, 2023
Earlier, under SRO 286 (I)/ 2023, the draught regulations were published in March of that year.
The new regulations require that the competent authorities of the contracting parties issue licenses to transport operators who are qualified to perform international transportation to vehicles conveying transit and bilateral commodities.
According to the reciprocity agreement between the two contracting parties, Tajikistan-registered vehicles with valid permits that are used for transit and bilateral trade cargo may enter Pakistan without having to provide any financial security for the duty and taxes that may be owed on the vehicle.
The Logistics Facilitation Centre must enter the driver and vehicle’s information in the CCS, and this information must be linked to the FIA’s immigration module so that the driver can only leave Pakistan if his vehicle has entered the border Customs station on the return trip, the gate-in event has been recorded in the CCS, and the vehicle has finished all customs formalities for leaving Pakistan.
To make sure the aforementioned process is used and to identify any overstayed vehicles, both FIA and Customs officials stationed at Customs border stations must conduct weekly reconciliation.
The new regulations would apply to cargo imported into Tajikistan through the ports of Karachi, Port Muhammad Bin Qasim, and Gwadar, as well as cargo exported by Tajikistan to other nations through those same ports.
For the purpose of registering different categories of users, such as traders, governmental organizations, the United Nations (UN), or diplomatic missions based in Tajikistan with the Customs Computerised System (CCS), one or more user IDs must be generated for the focal person of the relevant Ministry of the Republic of Tajikistan by the Directorate General Reforms and Automation, Karachi.
The necessary registration proforma (Annex-I), which must be filled out by the foreign entities—traders, government agencies, United Nations (UN), or diplomatic missions—must be electronically submitted to the Customs Computerised System by the relevant Ministry of the Republic of Tajikistan.
The CCS will create a user ID and password after receiving the necessary data and will provide them to the applicant via his registered email address. Up to three customs clearing agents or brokers may be chosen by the user to handle his transit goods in Pakistan.
The new regulations stipulated that all customs clearing agents, brokers, and bonded carriers involved in the clearance and transportation of transit cargo must receive payment in foreign currency in Pakistan for various expenses related to service fees, freight, and other costs from foreign traders and entities.
