LAHORE: Customs Liaison Border Committee (CLBC) will hold its two-day conference at the MCC Lahore on December 11-12.
The conference is held after every two months period in India and Pakistan in order to streamline things concerning India- Pakistan trade. Indian Amritsar commissioner of customs, additional commissioner of customs and deputy commissioner of customs will arrive to have a discourse with the Pakistani sides of the customs authorities including collector of Customs preventives Mukarm Jah, his additional and deputy collectors.
Earlier, Pakistani MCC Lahore preventive officials including collector of customs preventive and his additional and deputy collectors left for Amritsar for deliberation on improving and enhancing cross-border infrastructure and other relevant issues. Pakistan and India established joint customs border liaison committees at each point of crossing between border customs stations in 2012.
Members of the border liaison committees are nominated by the respective customs administrations as soon as possible after the agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters comes into force.
Both the countries signed the agreement on February 15, 2012 during the visit of Indian Minister for Commerce, Industry and Textile, Anand Sharma, to Pakistan. The committee meets at least once in two months on either side of the border customs station on rotational basis to discuss progress in the development of infrastructure on both sides of the border stations enabling expeditious clearance of goods, resolve other operational issues in order to facilitate trade and any other matter of joint interest.
Both countries apply electronic risk based management systems, to the extent possible to focus on inspection activities efficiently and effectively and facilitate the clearance and movement of legitimate trade.
The customs administration of a contracting party provides certified copies of customs documents, shipment documents, records of evidence that give information on actions, carried out or intended, which constitute or may constitute an offence against the customs laws in force in the territory of the other customs administration. Both countries exchange information and intelligence while each of them is bound to provide certified copies of customs documents and shipment documents.
The required information is transmitted via electronic means and any information or documents received under the agreement is used only by the requesting customs administration solely for the purpose of assistance and under the terms set out in the agreement.
The information or documents received under the customs cooperation agreement are eligible for use in administrative, quasi-judicial or judicial proceedings and in inquiries by the respective country.
