KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is mulling over to make Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in connection with Free Trade Agreement (FTA) certification, it is learnt here.
The sources informed Customs Today that the FBR has received several complaints about lacuna in FTA clearing procedures, which on one hand, open the gateway of corruption and on the other hand, creating difficulties in attaining the FTA certificates for the importers.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Customs authorities have no SOPs in connection with Free Trade Agreement (FTA) certification which is creating issues and problems for the importers.
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.
Replying to another query, the sources further said that the cases of issuance of fake FTAs are also being noticed from the FTA Cell. However, the clearing agents and importers are also expressed their concerns over delay in issuance of FTA Certifications.
The Customs authorities were of the view that the strict scrutiny of the documentations before issuance of FTA certifications to the importers and clearing agents are imperative to ensure transparent procedure.
The sources further disclosed that there were several anomalies also reported in issuance of Health Certificates, Halal Certificates and analysis certificates, adding that the Customs authorities have taken the notice of said anomalies and requested the FBR to issue SOPs in connection with issuance of FTA Certifications.
