KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has finalized the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in connection with Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Sources informed Customs Today that the FBR has received several complaints about lacunas in FTA clearing procedures, which not only open the gateway of corruption but also create difficulties for importers to get the FTA certificates. Working on the given complaints, the FBR has finalized an FTA-related document which would be in practice in coming days.
It is pertinent to mention here that the customs authorities did not make any SOPs in connection with FTA certification. However, importers are facing issues and problems.
The sources further said that the FTA certification is currently applied for China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and India, adding that the customs authorities are taking further steps to make the issuance of FTA certification process transparent.
Responding to a query, the sources said that the customs agents and importers are taking advantages of the absence of SOPs in issuance of FTA certification.
