LAHORE: The collection of customs duty posted 23 percent decline in May 2020 due to lockdown and long holidays on account of Eidul Fitr, sources told Customs Today.
The three major customs collectorates in Karachi jointly collected Rs50.39 billion in May 2020, as compared with Rs38.92 billion collected in the same month of last year.
Sources said port activities remained lackluster in May 2020 due to lockdown imposed in the country. Consignment clearance improved in April 2020 due to ease in lockdown.
However, clearance activities again fell in May 2020. Major decline of 26 percent in duty collection was seen at Customs Appraisement West, which collected Rs11.13 billion in May 2020, as compared with Rs14.99 billion in the same month of last year.
Meanwhile, Customs Appraisement East registered 24 percent decline in duty collection. The Collectorate collected Rs14.8 billion in May 2020, as compared with Rs19.85 billion in the same month of last year.
Furthermore, Port Qasim Collectorate posted decline of 23 percent during the month under review. The collectorate collected Rs12.97 billion in May 2020, as compared with Rs15.85 billion in the same month of last year.
Although duty collection witnessed decline in May 2020, collection was much better when compared with decline in import volume in the comparative month. The import bill in May 2020 registered 43 percent decline to $2.85 billion as compared with $5.01 billion in the same month of last year.
Sources said duty collection would likely fall further in coming months as foreign trade was showing significant decline. The collection target for the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has already been reduced to Rs3.9 trillion for current fiscal year from Rs5.238 trillion.
Overall collection of these three customs collectorates during first 11 months also posted decline of 7.58 percent. The combined customs duty collection of the three collectorates was at Rs441.92 billion during July-May 2019/2020, as compared with Rs408 billion in the corresponding period of the last year.
