LAHORE: The Customs Appraisement Lahore held an awareness session on electronic Form-I in collaboration with Lahore Chamber of Commerce and industry (LCCI) ahead of the implementation of the new system from September 1, 2016.
A large number of importers, exporters and traders attended the session under chairmanship of LCCI Vice President Nasir Saeed.
On the occasion the LCCI VP said that the newly introduced electronic Form-I is a technical system having a number of complications and if the system is implemented haphazardly it will do more harm than good.
He said that WeBoC system had caused a number of hardships for importers and the off-hand implementation of electronic form would further add to the difficulties of importers and exporters.
He said that this will in turn not only wreak havoc on businesses but also reduce the revenue collection of the customs department.
The vice president LCCI urged the customs department and the State Bank of Pakistan to halt implementation of the system till January 1, 2017. After extensive awareness session of the concerned departments with importers and other stakeholders, the implementation of EIF will prove to be a success.
On the other hand, Customs Appraisement additional collector while addressing the importers, exporters and customs agents said that the implementation of the new system has nothing to do with the consignments in the pipeline as initially the consignments would be waved off and the importers would be dealt favorably.
He added that a large number of hazards would come in the way of successful implementation of the system, however, like WeBOC this system will also be implemented successfully.
The Customs Appraisement Lahore official Inam answered various queries of the participants and vowed to extend all-out support and assistance to importers and other stakeholders.
The participants, however, were of the view that awareness session with SBP and commercial banks staff is inevitable and they urged the LCCI VP and customs department to arrange the session before the implementation of EIF.
Renowned businessmen including Khawaja Khawar, Aftab Vohra and Zeshan Khalil also spoke on the occassion.
