ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, deliberated 19 clauses of the proposed Finance Bill for the fiscal year 2017-18. These clauses were related to the Customs Act.
Last year, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) suggested amendments to the Customs Act 1969 Section 155-H and proposed two new clauses after the existing clause (c) in budget 2016-17. Then the FBR justified that Section 155H relates to confidential information. This is quite restrictive.
The customs administration already signed bilateral cooperation agreements with other Customs administrations where data exchange through EDI or otherwise have been agreed. This needs to be provided legal cover.
The Finance and Revenue Committee met here with Salim Mandviwala in the chair to consider and finalize the recommendations on the Finance Bill 2017-18, containing the Annual Budget statement laid in the House on May 26 and referred to the committee by the Upper House of the Parliament.
Due course of the discussion on the said clauses of the Finance Bill related to Customs Act, the Chairman Committee pressed on making the Customs Act more and more people friendly by scrutinizing each and every word, comma, colon and even the semi colon.
The concerned clauses of the Finance Bill have proposed establishment of Director General of Customs to facilitate the import of machinery and other products related to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Similarly, the clauses have also proposed uniform as a binding for staff of Pakistan Customs as well as inclusion of Motorway and High Police into the package of CPEC.
Last year, the federal government introduced a number of amendments in the Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969), in the First Schedule which stated that as per amendments machinery, equipment, apparatus, appliances, components, sub-components and parts not produced or manufactured in Pakistan which were re-imported by industrial concerns after having been exported and had not undergone any process outside Pakistan since their exportation.
In case the machinery, equipment, apparatus, appliances, components, sub-components and parts had undergone any alterations, renovations, additions or repairs prior to their re-import into Pakistan, the cost incurred on such alterations, renovations, additions or repairs (excluding the element of freight and other incidentals) shall be liable to duty as leviable under its respective PCT heading determined at the time of original import provided the same was or were, as the case may be, exported under a contract of alteration, renovation, addition or repairs and that the supplier and the receiver as well as the make, model, weight and other specifications remain the same as were at the time of the original import.
