May 3 layout 1

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PAKISTAN’S FIRST INDEPTH NEWSPAPER ON CUSTOMS

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Karachi, Wed May 3, 2017

PESHAWAR

NADIR KHAN

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he government would have to collect Rs1,101 billion during next couple of months to achieve the annual tax collection target.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has collected Rs2,520 billion taxes during ten months (July-April) of the ongoing Qinancial year 2016-17, said an ofQicial of the FBR while

talking to Customs Today. He further said that tax collection during July-April of the current Qiscal year is 9 percent higher than the collection of the same period of the previous year when FBR collected Rs2,309 billion.

The government had set the budgeted revenue collection target of Rs3,621 billion for 2016-17. The government had already unofQicially reduced the tax collection target to Rs3,500 billion from Rs3,621 billion due to the massive shortfall in

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taxes. The FBR blames the lower oil prices, zero rating for export sectors and payment of tax refunds to exporters for missing tax collection target. Full impact of the POL prices was not passed to the common man and this caused revenue gap amounting to Rs100 billion. The government has already revised the budget deQicit target to 4.1 percent of the GDP (Rs1.376 trillion) as against the budget target of 3.8 percent of the GDP (Rs1.276 trillion) due to the shortfall in tax collection.

DG Valuation revises customs values of file covers, file folders

Anti Corruption Dept successfully eliminating menace of corruption from society

Pakistan more secure, conducive for trade, economic activities: President

Customs Preventive collects Rs 22710m duty, taxes

Faisalabad Customs holds auction of non duty paid goods, vehicles

The DG of Customs Valuation revised the customs value of file covers, file folders | SEE PAGE 02 |

DG Anti-Corruption Dept has said his departmentwassuccessfullymovingahead | SEE PAGE 03 |

President Mamnoon Hussain has said that today’s Pakistan was more secure | SEE PAGE 04 |

Collectorate of Customs Preventive has collected Rs 22710m duty and taxes | SEE PAGE 14 |

The Customs I&I has generated Rs12,70,000 through the auction | SEE PAGE 16 |

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ANF seizes 8,000kg heroin, opium near Chaman Wednesday, May 3, 2017

National

CHAMAN: The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) has seized 8,000kg heroin and opium in a raid carried out near Chaman on Sunday, ANF officials said.

At least 2,274 kg heroin and 5,793 kg opium were recovered in Qilla Abdullah and Roghai areas during the joint raid conducted by ANF personnel and security forces.

No arrests could be made during the raid because no suspects were present at the site, ANF officials said.

According to the forces, the large stack of drugs was going to be smuggled into Karachi.

The seized drugs are reported to be worth billions of rupees.

DG Valuation revises customs values of file covers, file folders

LAHORE

KARACHI

SAJID NAWAZ

WAQAR AHMED ANSARI

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he Customs Appellate Tribunal has accepted the appeal of M/s Jan Enterprises and set aside the Order-in-Original passed by the adjudication authority. Imran Tariq, Member Technical Bench-II, has declared in the judgment that the goods seized by the customs authorities have not only been declared but also been processed correctly. The appellant imported the impugned goods of 542 cartons of airfresher and 300 cartons of erasers M/o rubbers from China at transitional value @ $4000 and claimed under the PCT heading 3307.4900. On a tip-off, customs authorities examined the imported goods and found some discrepancies in the PCT heading and weight. The examining authorities declared that the imported mis-declared goods violated the provision of Section 18, 32 (1) & (2) of Customs Act-1969, punishable under clause 14 & 17. After a show cause notice, the adjudication authority passed the order-in-original and ordered recovery of Rs564021 and also imposed a penalty of Rs150000 on the importer. Appellant dissatisfied from the order-in-original challenged the order before the learned Collector of Customs (Appeals) and also passed the order for disciplinary action.

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he Directorate General of Customs Valuation revised the customs value of Qile covers, Qile folders, pouches and envelopes made of plastic through Valuation Ruling No 1136/2017 under Section 25A of the Customs Act, 1969.

According to details, in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 25-A of the Customs Act, 1969, Customs values of Qile covers, Qile folders, pouches and envelopes made of plastic were earlier determined vide VDB No.134/2016 dated, 29-12-2016. The items were selected to issue Valuation Ruling U/S 25 A of the Custom Act 1969, because there was wide variation in the declared and assessed values.

Therefore an exercise was taken for determination of customs value of Qile covers, Qile folders, pouches and envelopes made of plastic afresh. Meetings with all the stakeholders including importers and representatives from clearance Collectorate were held on 06-03-2017 & 29-03-2017 to discuss the current international prices of the subject item. No one appeared to participate the meeting for determination of Customs Values of Qile covers, Qile folders, pouches and envelopes made of plastic. Valuation methods provided in Section 25 of the Customs Act, 1969 were duly applied

Customs tribunal sets aside ONO; accepts appeal of M/s Jan Enterprises

in their regular sequential order to address the particular valuation issue at hand. The transaction value method as provided in Sub-Section (1) of Section 25, found inapplicable in light of the wide variety of in-

voices submitted at import stage the veracity of which could not be ascertained fully, hence requisite information required under law was not available to arrive at the correct transaction value. Identical /

similar goods value method provided vide Sub-Sections (5) & (6) of Section 25 ibid were examined for applicability to determine Customs value of subject goods, this data provided some references.

Brawl at airport: FIA submits report in Supreme Court T

ISLAMABAD

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he Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has submitted a report in the Supreme Court, confirming that two female passengers had admitted their part in the Islamabad airport ruckus that saw them physically manhandled by lady constables.

The incident involved a mother and daughter, Fozia Umar and

Haseena Begum. Both hold Norwegian citizenship. The FIA told the court that in their recorded statements, both had conceded that the incident occurred when they lost their temper. However, the FIA went on to add that the three airport ofQicials who had manhandled them had been suspended following an inquiry into the matter.

FIA Director Administration Ahmed Mukarram submitted the report in compliance with the directives of the chief justice, who took

suo moto action on April 19. The report included witness statements, a copy of the FIR, CCTV footage taken from Civil Aviation Authority cameras as well as video clips pulled from social and electronic media.

The FIA had conducted interviews of the two passengers in Peshawar, given the latter’s reluctance to return to Islamabad.

As per the report’s submission, the two passengers were scheduled to leave Pakistan on Flight No PK771(Islamabad-Oslo). At the time of

passenger pre-clearance, Lady Constable Noshila entered the washroom at the same time as the two women. According to the report, Fozia demanded that Noshila bring her tissue paper. This sparked a heated exchange of words, especially after the latter pointed out that this was not her job. This was met with verbal abuse. Noshila then returned to the counter to resume her duties. “Musharraf Hussain (witness) who was travelling with a female relative fully corroborated

Noshila Bibi’s version of event,” the report reads. It also asserts that when the female passengers had reached the immigration clearance desk (counter 10), Noshila left her station (counter No 7) and moved towards where the two women were queuing.

“The moment Fozia Umar put her passport in front of ASI Asma Khan [counter 10], Noshila Bibi immediately snatched it and tired to proceed towards the desk of the shift in-charge.

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DG Valuation revises value of Chemicals Karachi: The Directorate General of Customs Valuation has revised the customs value of Chemicals namely Glycerin, Ammonium Bi Carbonate, Butyl Acrylate, Chlorinated Paraffin Wax (Liquid) And Calcium Carbide, through Valuation Ruling No 1132/2017 under Section 25A of the Customs Act, 1969.According to details, The custom values of the subject Chemicals namely Glycerin, Ammonium Bi Carbonate, Butyl Acrylate, Chlorinated Paraffin wax (Liquid) and Calcium Carbide were earlier determined vide Valuation Ruling Nos 937/2016 dated 26.9.2016.

Customs foils bid to smuggle 1.5kg of Crystal Amphetamine

Wednesday May 3, 2017

National

Anti Corruption Dept successfully eliminating menace of corruption

KARACHI

MUBEEN HUSSAIN

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he Customs Preventive team has recovered huge quantity of drugs from the possession of a passenger during checking at Jinnah International Airport (JIAP) Karachi. According to the details, the staff of the Customs Preventive deputed at the departure of Jinnah International Airport (JIAP), after getting a tip-off intercepted a passenger named Abdur Rehman and asked him for getting checked the luggage as well as travel documents. During the search, the team of the Customs Preventive found 1.5 kilograms of high quality crystal amphetamine hidden in the secret places of the bags at the departure of the Jinnah International Airport (JIAP) Karachi.

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FBR I&I-IR detects huge tax evasion by paper mills ISLAMABAD

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he Federal Board of Revenue’s Directorate General of Intelligence & Investigation-Inland Revenue has detected evading taxes of millions of rupees by a paper and board mills in Gujranwala. The intelligence wing of Inland Revenue found that the ‘taxpayer owner’ of the said unit was involved in use of undeclared bank accounts of its director and major shareholder Muhammad Ayub, to hide it’s book sales and purchases as well as payment of electricity bill and evading its income. Muhammad Ayub, registered in Income Tax as salaried person, has declared its total income at Rs0.36m each for tax years 2011 & 2012, whereas amount credited in his bank accounts was Rs95.824m in tax year 2011 and Rs117.7m in tax year 2012.

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D I KHAN

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irector General Anti-Corruption Department Zaibullah Khan has said his department was successfully moving ahead with its plan to eliminate scourge of corruption from society.

The DG said directives had been issued to all concerned ofQicers of the anti-corruption departments in the province to take stern action against those who were found involved in corruption cases.

He added, these actions against corruption elements were taken following transparent procedures without any political inQluence.

“Corruption is like a cancer, eating up the very fabric of society, so collective efforts should be made to eliminate economic injustices and there should be equal treatment and justice for all for making the departments free from corrupt practices. He said the provincial government was leaving no stone un-turned to wipe out the scourge of corruption and noose was being tightened around corrupt elements in departments as part of efforts to make the province as corruptionfree. He said that anti-corruption department had made Qirm resolve to put in place comprehensive measures to prevent the corruption and added Anti-corruption departments across the province were efQiciently moving ahead with its

commitment to lay hands on corrupt elements which had crept in various departments. He said that the anti-corruption department was actively attending of public’s complaints by initiating legal action against those who were found involved in corruption cases.

He also appreciated performance of anti-corruption departments of Dera Ismail Khan and Tank and given away certiQicates in recognition of their efforts for wiping out

The anti-corruption department actively attending of public’s complaints by initiating legal action against those who were found involved in corruption cases

NAB-KP to freeze assets of six accused

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PESHAWAR

CUSTOMS BULLETIN REPORT

www.customsbulletin.com ational Accountability Bureau Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (NAB KP) Director General Brigadier (R) Farooq Nasir Awan ordered freezing of assets of six accused of frauds who were allegedly involved in huge property scam.

According to NAB KP spokesman the accused included Bostan Khan, Malik Habib, Ejaz Hussain Shah, Mehtab Ali Qureshi, Raja Saeed of

AJK and Adil Shaukat.

He said the accused were allegedly involved in showing and signing sale deed of precious commercial properties at key points with general public. They later transferred other lands in names of purchasers while cheating them.

The NAB KP spokesman said that the accused demanded and received cars, lands and cash in bribe from the victims and transferred actual land in their names. He said during the course of investigation it was revealed that

1133 Kanal and 5 Marla commercial and agricultural lands were registered in district Haripur and 19 Kanal and 4 Marla in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Bahria Town in names of Bostan Khan and his 20 other accomplices. It is to mention here that NAB KP had so far arrested 11 accused in the scam including Mehtab Ali Qureshi, Adil Shaukat Ilyas, Bostan Khan and Malik Habib from Haripur, Syed Ejaz Hussain Shah from Taxila, Chaudhry Masood Ahmed, an ofQicial of Anti Terrorism Court, Manager Operation JS Bank.

corruption. Assistant Commissioner, Assistant Director Anti-Corruption department of the district Abdul Hai Babar, Assistant Director South Region Aniyat Ali Amjad and District Nazim Nawazada Azizullah Khan Alizai among other ofQicials were also present on the occasion. The district Nazim said district government was committed to providing all possible amenities of life and the development projects would successfully compete timely.

Car imports increase by 23.5pc in July – March he import of cars has registered 23.5 percent growth in first nine months of current fiscal year owing to rising local demand for domestic and commercial services, analysts said. According to data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) the total import of motor cars including CBU (Complete Built-Up) and CKD (Complete KnockedDown) were at $763.74 million during July – March 2016/2017.

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Cotton cultivation should be completed by May-end FAISALABAD: Agriculture experts have advised growers to complete cultivation of cotton by end of May for getting a bumper yield.

A spokesman for Agriculture Department said here Friday that although the best time for cotton cultivation is before mid-May, farmers could complete the process by end of May.He said that farmers should use certified cotton seeds. More information and guidance can be obtained from free helpline of Agriculture Department on 080015000, he added.

Wednesday May 3, 2017

Business

Pakistan more secure, conducive for trade ISLAMABAD

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resident Mamnoon Hussain has said that today’s Pakistan was more secure, more peaceful and more conducive for trade and economic activities and it was the result of sacriQices had rendered by our people for eradication of terrorism and extremism.

“Due to these sacriQices negative forces had weakened and law and order situation had improved which producing positive impact on our economy and Pakistan was now emerging as a safe country in the region for business and investment,” the President said while speaking

ICI, CMP to educate communities KARACHI

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CI Pakistan Limited has signed an MoU with the Sindh Community Mobilisation Program (CMP) to support CMP in its mission to improve access to quality education for marginalised communities in the province. CMP is part of the larger Sindh Basic Education Programme, funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by International Relief and Development (IRD). The MoU was signed by Shehzad Mehmood, Chief of Party at CMP-IRD and Fathema Zuberi, General Manager HR, ICI Pakistan Ltd.

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at a Conference of South Asian Federation of Accountants here.

The conference “SAARC Economic Challenges” was organized by Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMAP).

The President said in view of these changing realities, the Gov-

ernment of Pakistan had enacted very liberal and business friendly policies, resultantly, Pakistan was now a more attractive country for business, trade and industry when comparison to the past. The President said South Asian region was fortunate and unique in the world in

many ways where various countries share common interests, adding that it was a region where anything happening in one country affects other countries of the region also.

President Mamnoon said the reason behind the creation of SAARC was to promote regional cooperation to raise the standard of life of the people of South Asia by taking advantage of geographical proximity. This was also the spirit behind China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project which would connect different region of the world, the President said and added that “We would like that other countries of the region particularly the neighbouring countries may also take advantage of the opportunities which were emerging for Pakistan and China through this mega project.”

Early completion of CPEC’s Western route top priority: Chairman NHA T

ISLAMABAD

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he participants of Inland Study Tour of National Management Course visited NHA head ofQice Friday where they were given a detailed brieQing about the organization, its working and a detailed overview of development projects currently under construction in various parts of the country.

Welcoming the guests, National Highway Authority (NHA) Chairman Shahidb Ashraf Tarar dilated upon

the proQile of the organization regarding construction, development and maintenance of national highways, motorways, expressways and strategic roads in Pakistan.

He informed the guests that while roads under NHA constituted only 4 pc of country’s entire network; they carried 80 percent of commercial and 65 percent of cargo trafQic load. He said development projects worth over Rs 1200 billion were presently under execution including the all important China Pakistan Economic Corridor. He said the early completion of CPEC’s

Western route was organization’s top priority as it passed through the less privileged areas of the country.

He said work on different sections of the western alignment had already started and hoped to complete the work by the end of 2018.

He said for the Qirst time in country’s history, substantial private sector investment was encouraged towards highway schemes and projects worth over Rs 340 billion were awarded on BOT (Built-Operate-Transfer) including Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M-9) and Lahore-Sialkot Motorway.

Pak-Britain ties causes of regional stability in S Asia KARACHI

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ordial relationship between Pakistan and Great Britain is not only equally beneficial for the two countries but is also a cause of stability in South Asia region, said Governor of Sindh, Muhammad Zubair’Talking to the British High Commissioner, Thomas Drew, in a call on meeting at Governor House, he said growing interest of British investors in Sindh coupled with its support to strengthen education and health sectors in the province will have its long term impact. Assistance extended to Sindh province in the crucial sectors like education, health and basic facilities is key to cordiality between people of two countries, said the Sindh Governor. He also emphasized the need for increase in bilateral trade between the countries.

Muhammad Zubair appreciated that British investment in the fields of energy, agriculture, infrastructure development coupled with health and education is also generating employment opportunities for the people hence leading to economic and social stability. During the meeting, also attended by Deputy High Commissioner, Belinda Lewis, different aspects of bilateral relationship between the two countries were extensively deliberated upon.

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Wheat valuing $258,000 exported in 9 months ISLAMABAD

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bout 885 metric tons of wheat valuing US$ 258,000, was exported during Qirst 3 quarters of current Qinancial year as compared the exports of the corresponding period of last year.

Wheat exports from the country during the period from July-March, 2017-18 grew by 1,190 percent as

the commodity exports during the same period of last year was recorded at only 50 metric tons worth of US$ 20,000.

However, during month of March wheat exports from the country was recorded at zero as against the exports of 200 metric ton of the month of February, 2017.

Meanwhile 2.684 million tons rice valuing US$ 1.170 billion exported in last 9 months of current Qinancial year as against the exports of 3.140 million

tons worth US$ 1.376 million of same period last year. On month on month basis,rice exports from the country during March, 2017 increased by 154.28 percent as compared the exports of the corresponding month of last year. During month of March, about 45,745 metric tons of basmati rice worth US$ 43.976 million were exported as compared the exports of 17,412 metric tons valuing of US$ 17.294 million of same month last year. In Qirst three quarter of current

Qinancial year 123,443 metric tons of sugar worth US$ 66.50 million exported as compared the 293,514 tons valuing US$ 132.28 million of same period last year. During the month of March sugar exports from the country also grew by 1.60 percent and about 107,558 metric tons of sugar worth US$ 57.742 million were exported as compared the exports of 127,009 metric tons valuing of US$ 56.883 million of same month last year. In last month, exports of oil seed

nuts and kernals increased by 281.92 percent as 4,588 metric tons of oil seeds and nuts worth US$ 5.576 million exported against the exports of 1,099 metric tons valuing US$ 1.460 million of same month last year. In month of March tobacco export increased by 422.73 percent as about 723 metric tons of tobacco exported and earned US$ 2.415 million as against the exports of 114 metric tons valuing US$ 0.462 million of same period last year.

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ember Customs Muhammad Zahid Khokhar has said that with the aim to ease doing business in the country, his department is developing an online National Single Window.

While talking to media, he said that after giving his approval to the new system, the Prime Minister assigned Pakistan Customs as lead operating agency.

The Member Customs said that Pakistan Customs has completed all the work on its part. However, several other departments would require development of IT infrastructure to create linkage with the WeBOC system, he added.

He said the government is giving priority to reduce the cost of business and enhance industrial activities in the country.

“Business related to trade and import or supply will be able to link with all related government departments with a single click to see their status of exemption and concession certiQicates,” he said while describing the signiQicance of the project.

According to the World Bank report on ease of doing business, Pakistan ranked 174th in the 189 economies in “trading across the borders”.

Khokhar said that the entire system would be operational at the Customs in-house software – WeBOC, adding, “For the purpose of large size data, the capacity of WeBOC will be enhanced.” The project would be ready in a year and around 30 to 40 departments would be linked to this system in order to facilitate the trade and industry, the member Customs added.

Timeline would be deQined for the departments to approve

or disapprove any request for certiQicate issuance in order to ensure speedy clearance at the Customs stage, he said.

“The delay time at the time of clearance is one of the major impediments for foreign investors in Pakistan,” the member said, adding that with the launch of this operation, the delay time, which was at present in days, would be reduced to a few minutes.

This software will also help reduce the chances of bogus and fake certiQicates, which were major reasons for revenue leakages.

Khokhar said that the plan will be submitted to the National Assembly for formal approval. Pakistan Customs had proposed a steering committee under the guidance of prime minister, he added.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave approval for the establishment of this national single window for managing Pakistan’s external r port o trade on March 30. m i d e an d a The premier had taken the r t l l a to k with decision to take away the elated r n i l s s o e t h able ts wit “Busin power of managing trade will be rtmen a y l p p e p d from the Ministry of Comu t f s o n e s u rnm tat e s v r merce following informal i o e g h d t s,” relate to see consultation with internal ificate k t c r i l e c c e l ssion and external experts. a sing e conce

h nd bing t tion a descri e l i exemp h ect dw e proj h he sai t f o cance signifi

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Wednesday, May 3, 2017

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Founder & Chairman Zulfiqar Ali Editor Rahil Yasin editor@customsbulletin.com.pk For advertising & subscription marketing@customsbulletin.com.pk www.customsbulletin.com Phones: 042-35781643-4, Fax: 042-35781645 Address: 627, Siddiq Trade Centre, Gulberg, Lahore

EDITORIAL

Concessions for auto sector

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he Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association has asked the government to change a law, which provides relief to the used cars importers but forces the Original Equipment Manufacturers to pay 17 percent general sales tax at the retail stage in addition to the income tax.The used car importers are paying low duties and taxes at fixed rates. The association also alleges that 11,000 hybrid vehicles were imported last year but the money was paid through suspicious channels. The State Bank has now suggested certain measures to curb the illegal import of used cars. Auto industry is one of the best earning sectors in the country and it needs the government attention and concessions. The country has strong subsidiary industry but it is always been overlooked by the policymakers and the political elite at the helm of affairs.

Ignoring this vital sector is leading the nation to nowhere. The next budget is round the corner and the government is expected to announce relief for this sector. Earlier, the Federal Board of Revenue had expressed some reservations about the proposed incentives for the new entrants in the industry and the matter was deferred without reaching a conclusion. A committee was entrusted with the job to prepare the new auto policy, but it has yet to define limits and parameters for the new scheme of things in the background of the present auto policy which is not consumer friendly.

The exorbitant prices of vehicles are not in the interest of the companies, government and the consumers whereas international safety and quality standards are also ignored in many cases. The government has to revise import policy of the used cars and should assess how many vehicles should be produced annually in the local manufacturing units.

Pakistan can become hub of automobile manufacturing as demand for new vehicles is growing not only in Pakistan, but also in neighbouring countries. The international standards should have to be maintained in local made vehicles. The government should also rationalize tax regime as the demand of the vehicles will grow at a fast rate in the coming years and low tariffs will definitely increase the scope and volume of auto industry in the country.

Rising trade deficit P

LAHORE

DR AFTAB AFZAL

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akistan is facing current account deficit of around $7 billion during the current fiscal year thanks to heavy debt servicing, rise in oil prices and declining exports.The State Bank of Pakistan, in its recently issued second quarterly report on the state of economy,blamed the recovery in international oil prices for growing current account deficit in Pakistan. However, falling exports, rising imports and declining remittances are posing a grave challenge to the financial stability which the government had achieved after going into a three-year ex-

tended facility programme of the International Monetary Fund. According to reports, the current account deficit has already touched $5.47 billion in the first eight months of the fiscal year 2016-17 as compared to $2.48 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year. The government circles had shown chest-thumping euphoria when Pakistan was granted GSP plus status by the European Union.

It was taken for granted that exports will definitely increase, but the exports have been going in reverse gear for the last four years. It is difficult to imagine how and why the present set up has failed to arrest the situation despite the fact it came to power in the name of business,

business and business.

The State Bank has imposed 100 percent cash margin on the import of consumer items to discourage rising imports.

However, experts express the apprehension that the government move will increase cost of production in the country. Most of the import are also contain parts and machinery for the development of infrastructure and discouraging would also affect the development work. However, the import of luxury and unnecessary goods should be curtailed which add burden to the foreign exchange reserves.

A prudent import policy is need of the hour. The oil bill is also increasing as oil consumption increased by 13 percent from

July 2016 to February 2017.

The oil import has major share in all the import items in the country but the deficit can be met by increasing exports.

The only panacea to curtail the deficit is to increase industrial production and industrial production cannot be increased until energy crisis are overcome. All the economic indicators are connected to one another and a comprehensive policy is required to keep everything in order. There is a need to revise import and export policies in a manner to classify the countries where there are potentials of exports and the other countries where the import bill could be decreased.

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UBS shares up 3% after Q1 profit soars BERN: UBS said on Friday net profit rose 79 percent in the first-quarter of this year boosted by its investment bank business and cost-reduction program.

Net Profit 1.3 billion Swiss francs ($1.3 billion) versus a 919 million average in a poll.

The largest bank in Switzerland beat analysts’ expectations reporting a net profit of 1.3 billion Swiss francs ($1.3 billion), up from 707 million francs a year earlier. However, the bank cautioned geopolitical and macroeconomic concerns are affecting global markets.

“The geopolitical and macroeconomic issues that we’ve been facing in the last 3, 4 years are still there and are still posing a lot of risks to client activity and client sentiment,” Sergio Ermotti, chief executive officer of UBS, told CNBC.

OICCI urges FBR to slash tax slab on salaried individuals to 25% KARACHI

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he Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), in its budget proposal, has urged the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to slash highest tax slab on salaried individuals to 25 percent from existing 30 percent. The OICCI, in its budget proposals for 2017-18, said that the increase in the upper tax slab rates of salaried persons by 50 percent, from 20 percent to 30 percent, in the Finance Act 2013-14, has negatively impacted professional managerial talent needed to grow the economy. Therefore, the upper tax

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slab rate of salaried persons which is currently 30 percent should be reduced to 25 percent either in one go or in phases of 1.25 percent annually over the next four years. “Tax credit should be allowed for health insurance and medical expenditure against salary income for differently-abled individuals,” the OICCI said. It further recommended that there is a need to incorporate a mechanism that simultaneously encourages documentation and assists in bringing untaxed services sector into tax net. This requires introduction of ‘tax credit’ against personal taxation on submission of evidences of expenses incurred on: Medical Senior citizens to have a higher deduction limit for such expense; education of children. Giving rationale it said, professionally educated and talented individuals will be motivated and brain drain issue will be addressed to a large extent.

Wednesday May 3, 2017

Chambers

Federal govt wants Rangers to stay in Karachi: Governor Zubair G

KARACHI

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overnor Sindh Muhammad Zubair, while referring to improved law and order situation, said, “The federal government wants Rangers to stay in Karachi as, at this point in time, we simply cannot afford to lose the gains of improved law and order situation.

Hence, the federal government is committed to ensure that Rangers continues to operate so the business community should feel absolutely safe here.”

Speaking at a meeting during his visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday, Governor Sindh added, “Major success has been achieved which simply cannot be wasted hence rangers will remain here to keep an eye and make sure that we do not get back to the same old position.”

Chairman Businessmen Group & Former President KCCI Siraj Kassam Teli, Vice Chairmen BMG Tahir Khaliq, Zubair Motiwala, Haroon Farooki & Anjum Nisar, President KCCI Shamim Ahmed Firpo, Senior Vice President KCCI Asif Nisar, Vice

President Muhammad Younus Soomro, Former Presidents KCCI AQ Khalil and Younus Muhammad Bashir and KCCI Managing Committee members were also present on the occasion.

Commenting on the success of Karachi Operation, Governor Sindh said that it was the most challenging task which has been achieved as Prime Minister took the initiative to strictly deal with poor law

and order situation by giving go ahead to Karachi Operation in 2013 which was professionally managed after great consensus amongst all stakeholders and changes in relevant laws to grant powers to rangers whereas commitments were also made by all political parties not to interfere in the Operation which proved very successful. The credit for success of Karachi Operation goes to all po-

Businessmen playing leading role in economic development: Irfan Siddiqui

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ISLAMABAD

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delegation of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) led by President Khalid Iqbal Malik called on Irfan Siddiqui, Advisor to the Prime Minister for National History and Literary Heritage and apprised him of the key issues of business community.

Khalid Malik Senior Vice President, Tahir Ayub Vice President ICCI, Mian Akram Farid, Zafar Bakhtawari, Sheikh Amir Waheed, Ch. Muhammad Naeem, Raja Abdul Majeed and others were in the delegation.

Addressing the delegation, Irfan Siddiqui, Advisor to the Prime Minister for National History and Literary Heritage said that business com-

munity was playing leading role in the economic development of the country and government would make all efforts to address its key issues. He said the economy of Pakistan was in far better position now while the CPEC project would create many new opportunities for business and investment for private sector. He stressed that private sector should focus on upgrading its machinery and technology to compete robustly for joint ventures in CPEC projects. He said prime minister was determined to create conducive environment for the private sector and government was working on many initiatives to address energy and other problems. He was hopeful that energy issue would be solved in 2018 that would pave way for better growth of business, industrial and

investment activities in the country.

Speaking at the occasion, Khalid Iqbal Malik, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry highlighted the key issues of business community. He said trade deQicit had increased while exports had fallen and stressed that government should work with private sector to address the key issues of the economy. He said that existing taxpayers should never be further burdened with more taxes and government should focus on expanding the tax net which was better approach for improving the tax revenue. He said government had announced some incentives in Trade Policy 2015-18 for exporters, but these incentives have not fully beneQited the exporters due to cumbersome procedures involved in availing these schemes.

litical parties, provincial government, Police and Rangers, he added. Governor Sindh, while highlighting Karachi’s significant role in the progress and prosperity of entire Pakistan since 1947 and the spectacular growth witnessed due to massive contribution made by the private sector, stated that Karachi will compete with all other cities in the country to attract investment in Pakistan.

Digi Malaysia’s Q1 revenue grows 12% igi Malaysia reported first-quarter revenue growth of 12.1 percent year-on-year. Service revenue went down 5.6 percent to MYR 1.4 billion.

EBITDA grew to 45 percent margin or MYR 711 million, up by 1 percent year-on-year.

Digi ended the quarter with 11.8 million subscribers where 8 million are active internet subscribers. Profit after tax reached MYR 373 million or 24 percent margin. Internet revenue grew 15.2 percent year-onyear to MYR 621 million contributing 42.2 percent to service revenue as smartphone adoption rose to 68 percent. The company declared a first interim dividend of 4.7 sen per share or MYR 365 million. Capex reached MYR 197 million or 13 percent of service revenue to complete the spectrum refarming exercise and deployment of LTE 900Mhz network sites. –CB Report

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Hyderabad Chief Commissioner-IR Ali Sand to retire soon Wednesday May 3, 2017

Islamabad Syed Tanveer Ahmad relinquishes charge as Chief ISLAMABAD

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ISLAMABAD: Muhammad Ali Sand, a BS-20 officer of Inland Revenue Service, is going to retire from the government service on attaining the age of superannuation. The officer, presently posted as Chief Commissioner-IR (OPS), Regional Tax Office, Hyderabad, will stand retired from the government service with effect from July 9.

Meanwhile, Mirza Khan, a BS-20 officer of Inland Revenue Service, is going to retire from the government service on attaining the age of superannuation.

Addl Commissioner-IR Naveed’s performance allowance restored T

ISLAMABAD

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yed Tanveer Ahmad, a Pakistan Customs Service officer of BS20, has relinquished the charge of the post of Chief. The officer, pursuing the Law & Justice Division’s Notification No.F.2(9)/2015-A.IV dated 05.04.2017, relinquished the charge of the post of Chief, Federal Board of Revenue (HQ), Islamabad with effect from April 10. Tanveer Ahmad had relinquished the charge as Director, Directorate General of Training & Research (Customs), Karachi on February 11, 2016 and took the charge as Director General (OPS), Directorate General of Customs Valuation, Customs House, Karachi on the same date. The BS20 officer took the charge of the post of Director, Directorate General of Training & Research (Customs), Karachi after relinquishing the charge as Gwadar Collector on February 12, 2016.

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Chief Commissioner Salim to retire from July 19 alim Raza Asif, a BS-21 officer of Inland Revenue Service, is going to retire from the government service on attaining the age of superannuation. The officer, presently posted as Chief Commissioner-IR, Regional Tax Office, Multan, will stand retired from the government service with effect from July 19. Meanwhile, Mehmood Ahmed, a Pakistan Customs Service officer of BS-16, is going to retire from the government service on attaining the age of superannuation. The officer, presently posted as Senior Preventive officer at Model Customs Collectorate of Preventive, Karachi, will stand retired from government service with effect from May 18. –CB Report

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he performance allowance of Muhammad Naveed Akhtar, a BS-19 ofQicer of Inland Revenue Service, has been restored. The performance allowance of the ofQicer, presently posted as Additional Commissioner-IR, Large Taxpayers Unit, Lahore, has been restored with effect from October 30. 2014.

Meanwhile, Federal Board of Revenue has transferred/posted three Inland Revenue Service ofQicers of BS 19-20 with immediate effect and until further orders.

Naheed Azhar (BS-20) has been transferred from the post of Director General, (OPS) Directorate General of IOCO-IR, Karachi and posted as Commissioner (IP/TFD) at Regional Tax Office II, Karachi. She has

also been assigned the additional charge of the post of Director General (OPS), Directorate General of IOCO-IR, Karachi till the posting of a regular incumbent. Mohammed

Nasser Janjua (BS-19) has been transferred from the post of Director, (OPS) Directorate Geneal of IOCO-IR, Karachi and posted at Commissioner (OPS) (IP/TFD) Cor-

porate Regional Tax Office, Karachi.

He has been assigned the additional charge of the post of Director (OPS), Directorate General of IOCOIR, Karachi.

Dry port earns Rs59m more customs duty T

ISLAMABAD

TARIQ DERYA

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he Islamabad Dry Port (IDP) earned Rs59.00million more Customs Duty during nine and a half months (July to 15th of April) Financial Year 2016-17.

The IDP collected Rs2599million Customs Duty during above said period against the revised assigned target of Rs2540million for said period.

According to details told by Assistant Collector IDP Amanat Khan, most of the imports through IDP comprised fabric which came from China adding that the other mostly imports comprised auto parts which came from different parts of the word.

He said that during initial 15 days of April, the IDP collected Rs144.508million CD whereas the IDP was assigned Rs331.00million revised revenue target adding that the IDP was previously assigned Rs270million target for current month but he assured to meet the revised assigned target of April

FY2016-17. He said the IDP earned Rs2455million Customs Duty during nine months of Financial Year 2016-17. During the Qirst three quarters, the dry port was assigned Rs2208million Customs Duty. In this way, the dry port

stays surplus with Rs247million proQit against the assigned target.

The dry port collected Rs771.00million CD during the month of March 2016-17 against the assigned target of Rs585.00million. The dry port

Islamabad exceeded all the previous months’ targets. The dry port received Rs152.21million more Customs Duty than the assigned target of Rs123.21million for February of Financial Year 2016-17.

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Customs Court directs investigation officer to verify surety documents KARACHI: Customs Taxation and Anti-smuggling Court Judge Syed Faiz Rasool Rashdi has directed investigation officer to verify the surety documents of the flat submitted by Sana Rizwan wife of accused Syed Rizwan Rashid for replacement of defence saving certificate with fresh surety documents on behalf of the accused who is booked in a tax evasion case. During the hearing, Sana Rizwan moved an application for replacement of the surety with fresh surety documents on behalf of the accused and stated that accused was granted bail on from this court subject to furnishing surety of Rs 1,000,000 (one million) and the same was deposited in shape of defence saving certificates by the applicant being wife of the accused.

Hyderabad Customs AC urged to solve petty issues himself KARACHI

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indh High Court of (SHC) has order the Customs Assistant Collector to solve petty issues arising out of typographical or other minor errors at his level instead of bothering already over burdened courts. SHC appellate bench comprising Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Arshad Hussain Khan. The bench was hearing a constitution petition filed by one Sohbat Ali through his attorney Momin Khan. Assistant Collector, Customs, Hyderabad, Preventive, Mumtaz Ali appeared before the court along with counsel Kashif Nazeer advocate. The court observed that it appears to be a simple issue whereby parentage was incorrectly

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mentioned in one of the documents (ONO passed by the collector allowing release of the detainerd bus). Ms Dil Khurram Shaheen advocate appearing for the petitioner submitted that taking advantage of a typographical errors by the staff of the office of the Collector of Appeals Hyderabad the vehicle was not being released. The bench asked the AC, Customs Hyderabad to givean audience to petitioner or his attorney to satisfy him on the whereabout of the attorney as well as the petitioner. The counsel for AC Hyderabad said that FIR has been registered against the petitioner. The counsel for petitioner submitted that criminal case has no nexus with this issue of release of the vehicle. The bench after hearing the sides asked the AC to hear and decide upon contentions/submissions by the petitioner while further hearing was fixedfor May 03.

Karachi

SHC to hear scores of petitions, customs reference applications on May 15 S

KARACHI

M B RANA

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indh High Court (SHC) will hear scores of petitions and special customs reference applications (SCRAs) on May 15.

The SHC appellate bench adjourned hearings (till 15th of next month) of the cases pertain to the legal challenge to powers by Director, Deputy Director Valuation who imposed custom duty/taxes etc on higher side on the basis of guidelines. The petitioners said that respondents have no power or jurisdiction to levy more custom duty by enhancing the values while valuation rulings remain in Qield.

Meanwhile, The Sindh High Court (SHC) has restrained the tax authorities from taking any coercive action against Jubilee General Insurance Company Limited. The court ordered this on another constitutional petition, challenging a show cause notice issued by deputy commissioner Inland Revenue E&C Unit-III, Zone-III LTU Karachi for recovery of disputed amount.

While the hearing of the petition, a two-member bench, headed by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, also issued

notices to tax authorities and deputy attorney general and directed them to Qile their respective para wise comments on the next date of hearing. The court adjourned the hearing for 2017.

During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner submitted that in pursuant of the order, passed by the respondents against the petitioner on August 27, 2015, for the tax year 2010, the petitioner approached the appellate tribunal and moved an appeal along with stay application, which is pending for disposal. However, during the pen-

Wednesday May 3, 2017

dency of such appeal, the respondents have initiated coercive action for recovery of the impugned disputed amount, which is subject-matter of appeal before the appellate tribunal. He argued that a taxpayer, if aggrieved by an adverse order passed by revenue authorities, is entitled to seek remedy of appeal provided under the relevant statues by approaching the forums of appeal, therefore, the recovery proceedings initiated by the respondents department, under the circumstances, are based on mala Qide.

DG Valuation revises value of Chemicals KARACHI

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he Directorate General of Customs Valuation has revised the customs value of Chemicals namely Glycerin, Ammonium Bi Carbonate, Butyl Acrylate, Chlorinated Paraffin Wax (Liquid) And Calcium Carbide, through Valuation Ruling No 1132/2017 under Section 25A of the Customs Act, 1969.According to details, The custom values of the subject Chemicals namely Glycerin, Ammonium Bi Carbonate, Butyl Acrylate, Chlorinated Paraffin wax (Liquid) and Calcium Carbide were earlier determined vide Valuation Ruling Nos 937/2016 dated 26.9.2016. The Director General Customs Valuation vide Order-In-Revision No 277 dated 21.12.2016 referred the case to the Director to give opportunity of hearing and examine the arguments of importers of the liquid chlorinated paraffin wax based on the chlorine contents. There were several representations from different importers/ traders and Pakistan Chemicals and Dyes Merchants Association (PCDMA), for determination of customs value of the subject chemicals a fresh.

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DG Valuation revises customs values of plastic bottles

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KARACHI

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he Directorate General of Customs Valuation has revised the customs value of empty plastic bottles through Valuation Ruling No 1129/2017 under Section 25-A of the Customs Act, 1969.

According to details, the customs values of empty plastic bottles were earlier determined vide VDB No.107/2016 on November 30, 2016. Representations were received from commercial importers, for determination of customs value of empty plastic bottles afresh.

Meeting with all the stakeholders including importers and representatives from clearance Collectorates, was held on 03-03¬2017 to discuss the current international prices of the subject item.

The commercial importers stated that these are different types of bottles i.e. food grade, cosmetics grade they requested to determine the customs values by considering end use of Bottles and prices of raw material. The view point of all participants was heard in detail and considered to arrive at customs value of empty plastic tottles. Valuation methods provided in Section 25 of the Customs Act, 1969 were duly applied in

their regular sequential order to address the particular valuation issue at hand. The transaction value method as provided in SubSection (1) of Section 25, found inapplicable in light of the wide variety of invoices submitted at import stage the veracity of which could not be ascertained fully, hence requisite information required under law was not available to arrive at the correct transaction value. Identical / similar goods value method provided vide Sub-Sections (5) & (6) of Section 25 ibid were examined for applicability to determine Customs value of subject goods, this data provided some refer-

ences, however, it was found that the same cannot be solely relied upon due to the absence of absolute demonstrable evidence of qualities, and quantities of commercial level etc., and also it was observed that importers usually provided misleading description while declaring goods, as other types and varieties of similar goods to avoid the application of valuation ruling. Information available was, hence, found inappropriate. In line with the statutory sequential order of Section 25, this office then conducted a market inquiry using Deductive Value Method under Sub-Section (7) of the Section 25 of the Customs Act 1969.

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Egypt inks first oil deal with Iraq Wednesday May 3, 2017

World

BAGHDAD: Egypt has agreed to import one million barrels of Iraqi oil a month, Minister of Petroleum Tareq el-Molla announced.

The contract for the deal will be signed within days, he added in a press conference on Tuesday at the Cabinet headquarters. Molla expects the first shipment to reach Egypt on May 1. The ship capacity is up to two million barrels. A total of 12 shipments will reach Egypt a year, he added.

“This step is very good as it’s the first cooperation with Iraq in the direct import of crude oil,” said Molla, adding that the contract will be concluded between the Egyptian Petroleum Authority and the Iraqi Petroleum Company.

US posing as arms dealer defrauds 3 Taiwanese women

Tax evasion continues to haunt Swiss banking ZURICH

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TAIPEI

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n American man has been detained by police for allegedly defrauding at least three Taiwanese women who he met on an online dating site while posing as a weapons dealer, reports Apple Daily.

The suspect, Archie Boimah Richards, earlier this year told a Taiwanese woman he met on a dating website that he conducted an important arms sale with Taiwanese authorities, but that when he sent the money and goods to Taiwan, he was seized by customs ofQicers. He told the woman that he needed money to resolve the issue with customs and she complied because she had fallen in love with the suspect.

He then instructed her to give the money to a friend of his in Taiwan and take his photo when she

Iraq plans three gas processing plants to reduce flaring raq plans to build three new plants to process natural gas currently being flared at southern oil fields, and use the fuel for power generation and to increase the nation’s income from energy exports, Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said on Monday. Iraq is forced to flare some of the gas produced alongside crude oil as it lacks the facilities needed to capture and process it into usable fuel. The country has just one gas processing company, the Basrah Gas Company, a joint venture between Iraq state-run South Gas Co., Shell <RDSa.L> and Mitsubishi <4182.T>. “The ministry is seeking to end the flaring of associated gas in the next few years, despite the economic and financial challenges,” Luaibi said in an emailed statement. Iraq’s natural gas output will triple to 1,700 million cubic feet per day by 2018. –CB Report

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met with him. After she had made the transaction, she noticed that he started to ignore her and she began to feel as though she may have been cheated and reported the incident to police.

Once she told authorities her story, they found that at least two other women from other parts of

Taiwan had accused him of fraud as well. Police are not yet certain whether he played both roles in the scam or if there is an accomplice.

When Richards was confronted by police, he denied any wrongdoing and said that he did not know the woman, even when they showed him her photo.

Water treaty eyed as construction of dam to start soon

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inister of water and energy Ali Ahmad Osmani on Monday said government has started work on implementing the Hirmand water treaty and management of territorial waters in the western zone of the country.

The minister said that work on the Kamal Khan Dam was underway, and that construction of the dam is the initial step towards the implementation of the Hirmand water treaty between

Afghanistan and Iran. Meanwhile, a number of economic commentators and experts have said that the establishment of the Kamal Khan Dam will lead to agricultural development in Afghanistan.

The minister said that the contract for the building of the dam will be signed within a few days and that the implementation of the project will help control water resources in the western part of the country. –CB Report

wiss private banks have spent much of the past decade trying to rid themselves of lucrative accounts used to avoid taxes. But news of an international tax probe at Credit Suisse last month showed that Switzerland has further to go before it can escape the shadow of its image as a tax haven. Banks have written to tens of thousands of clients ordering them to “regularise” their affairs in recent years, either by proving they are tax compliant or taking their money elsewhere. Customers have withdrawn billions of francs as a result often some of the banks’ highest-margin business.

And yet the banks are still not in the clear. In 2017 they expected challenges in exotic destinations.

Switzerland has signed up to an

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ever-expanding list of countries whose tax authorities would automatically get information on Swiss banks’ clients. Countries such as Indonesia have worked through tax amnesties incentivising individuals to declare untaxed income.

But the problem has resurfaced on their doorstep in Europe, where clean-up work has been most intensive. Investigators descended on Credit Suisse’s ofQices in the Netherlands, UK and France on March 30 searching for information about “dozens of people who are suspected of tax fraud and money laundering”.

Dutch prosecutors, who co-ordinated the raids, said criminal investigations had also taken place in Germany and Australia. The situation bafQles Credit Suisse, which had thought it was “done” with regularising its European client base. “We have really made a lot of effort to deal with the past very proactively over the last number of years,” said Iqbal Khan, Credit Suisse’s international wealth management boss.

Uber announces return to Taiwan ber Technologies Inc. a U.Sbased ride-sharing company, announced on Thursday its return to Taiwan with a new business model that involves cooperating with car rental companies.

Mike Brown, Uber Asia-PaciQic regional general manager, called the suspension of its service two months ago an “incredibly difQicult decision,” but said the company was happy to “bring Uber back.”In every country it operates, Uber Technologies knows it “must Qit into the local content, the local culture and of course, the local laws,” he said, noting that the company decided to work with local car rental compa-

nies after communicating with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC). Likai Gu general manager of Uber Taipei, said the company will work with more than a dozen car rental companies and its Uber app has updated the pricing model. Gu said the company spent a lot of time communicating with the government when developing the new business model and car rental companies will now Qind it easier to Qind customers.

He said the company discussed the pricing model with Transportation Minister Ho Chen and believes it allows Uber to operate legally under existing laws. –CB Report

Jordan taps into global fertilizer demand

D AMMON

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eals signed in recent months that have the potential to reinvigorate Jordan’s phosphate exports could bring a new source of growth to its manufacturing sector, following a year of mixed results.

In mid-March the country’s sole

phosphate producer, state-owned Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC), announced a sales contract with a group of Indian Qirms to provide 5.2m tons of phosphate ore – a raw material used in the production of fertilizer in 2017.

Though its value has yet to be made public, the deal stipulates that sales prices will be set in line with prevailing global market conditions.

The agreement builds on existing trade relations between the two countries. In 2015 Jordan inaugurated an $860m sulphuric acid plant at Eshidiya, 325 km outside of Amman, through a joint venture between JPMC and the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative partly aimed at helping meet India’s growing demand for phosphate.

Further good news for the indus-

try came in February, when JPMC signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Bangladesh to export 270,000 tons of phosphate and phosphoric acid over three years – a deal valued at $280m. The agreement revives a partnership between the two nations, with JPMC having been the chief supplier of fertilizer to Bangladesh in the past.

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Malaysia to host global logistics congress in October KUALA LUMPUR: The Federation of Malaysian Freight Forwarders (FMFF) will host for the first time a global congress on logistics this October. The International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) World Congress 2017 with the theme “Logistics Bridging Global Trade” will take place at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from Oct 4 to 8. Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai (pix) said the theme fits with Malaysia’s aspiration to be connected to the world supply chain. “It is time for the Malaysian logistics industry to go beyond the regional market. “Our logistics services providers must be ready to be ‘glocal’ companies local companies with global outreach,” he said at the soft launch of the event on Tuesday.

Kuwait’s anti-austerity lawmakers threaten reform plans parliament packed with lawmakers who oppose wage cuts and taxes, and who want to keep Kuwait’s sumptuous welfare state intact, is threatening the government’s attempts to close a gaping budget deficit. Opposition candidates won about 24 out of 50 seats last month in a parliamentary election seen by Kuwaitis as a referendum on austerity measures aimed at dealing with the 2016/17 shortfall, forecast at 9.5 billion dinars ($31 billion). Citizens of the Gulf country, one of the world’s wealthiest, have bristled at recent fuel subsidy cuts and utility price hikes that the government pushed through the outgoing parliament with relative ease. But the new lawmakers say they are determined to protect basic services and jobs in a public sector, which employs more than 90 percent of workers.

Governments across the Gulf also trying to rein in spending in an era of flagging oil prices are watching closely as the government tries to pass more reforms, including taxing corporate profits and cutting government wages and benefits. –CB Report

World Customs

Chittagong court issues remand of 8 involved in Yaba smuggling

atar’s February trade surplus increased by 74 percent from a year earlier, according to data released by the country’s Ministry of Development, Planning and Statistics. The country’s surplus rose to QR12.3 billion ($3,38 billion) in January from QR10.8 billion in December and up from QR7 billion in January 2016. Exports of petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons climbed 18.9 percent to QR12.20 billion. Pressure on Qatar’s state finances is easing because of higher oil prices and the government may not need to issue an international bond this year, but it is still seeking ways to save money, finance minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi said last month. –CB Report

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General Motors says Venezuela illegally seizes auto plant eneral Motors said on Wednesday that Venezuelan authorities had illegally seized its plant in the industrial hub of Valencia and vowed to “take all legal actions” to defend its rights. The seizure comes amid a deepening economic crisis in leftist-led Venezuela that has already roiled many US companies. “Yesterday, GMV’s (General Motors Venezolana) plant was unexpectedly taken by the public authorities, preventing normal operations. In addition, other assets of the company, such as vehicles, have been illegally taken from its facilities,” the company said in a statement. It said the seizure would cause irreparable damage to the company, its 2,678 workers, its 79 dealers and to its suppliers.

Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for information. Venezuela’s car industry has been in freefall, hit by a lack of raw materials stemming from complex currency controls and stagnant local production, and many plants are barely producing at all. In early 2015, Ford Motor Co wrote off its investment in Venezuela when it took an $800 million pre-tax writedown. The country’s economic crisis has hurt many other US companies, including food makers and pharmaceutical firms. –CB Report

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Qatar’s foreign trade surplus soars 74 percent

Wednesday May 3, 2017

DHAKA

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Chittagong court yesterday placed eight persons on a two-day remand each in a Yaba smuggling case.

Mozaher, the alleged kingpin of Anwara-based Yaba syndicate, are among them, said court sources.

The court passed the order after the accused were produced before it with a seven-day remand prayer,

said the prosecution.

Rab seized 20 lakh Yaba tablets near Anwara area while those were being smuggled into Bangladesh from Myanmar by a trawler.

Meanwhile, A man has been detained for illegally importing cigarettes worth an estimated Tk1.5 million including tax, at the Shahjalal International Airport.

Muhammad Belal, flying in from Dubai on a Kuwait Airways flight on early Saturday, had brought 51,000 cigarettes, the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) said. “We found 255

cartons of cigarettes on him,” Customs Intelligence Director General (DG) Moinul Khan said.

The seized cigarettes included 200 cartons Mond, 41 cartons of 303 and 14 cartons of Benson & Hedges. Bangladesh prohibits importing foreign-made cigarettes that do not have anti-smoking warning written in Bangla on the packets.

CIID ofQicials said the seized cigarette packets did not have warning written in Bangla. They said they suspected the man had smuggled the products to evade high tariff (nearly 450%) on cigarette.

Customs seizes 10,000 cartons of cigarettes at Tuas

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SINGAPORE

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33-year-old Malaysian was caught smuggling 10,000 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes into Singapore, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a news release.

At about 4.30am on Wednesday, ofQicers at Tuas Checkpoint approached the man, who was driving a Malaysia-registered lorry.

The ofQicers noticed anomalies in

the scanned images of the lorry, which was carrying a consignment that had been declared to contain “ceramic Qibres”.

In the course of checks, duty-unpaid cigarettes were found hidden among the consignment, ICA said.

The driver, as well as the dutyunpaid cigarettes and lorry have been handed over to Singapore Customs for investigations, ICA added.

The total duty and goods and services tax evaded amounted to about S$776,000 and S$57,510 respectively.

Meanwhile, The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is keeping its exchange rate policy unchanged amid modest improvements in both economic growth and inQlation. While the outlook for the global economy has become more sanguine, Singapore’s growth remains uneven as the pickup has been limited largely to traderelated sectors, the central bank said in its biannual policy review released on Thursday (April 13).

Meanwhile, higher global oil prices have pushed up inQlation

here. However, the labour market remains weak and the economic environment is still lacklustre, which means companies are less likely to pass on higher costs to consumers This will dampen overall inQlation, the MAS said.

The central bank uses the exchange rate as its main monetary policy tool to strike a balance between inQlation from overseas and economic growth. The rate is allowed to Qloat within a policy band that the MAS can adjust when it reviews monetary policy.

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Customs court adjourns case against accused of gold smuggling Wednesday May 3, 2017

Lahore

LAHORE: The Special Federal Court of Customs Taxation and Anti-Smuggling extended the date of hearing of a case of gold smuggling against the accused who was arrested by the customs authorities from Lahore Airport. Sources told Customs Today that a suspect, Ibrar Islam, was arrested by the customs preventive from Allama Iqbal International Airport while he was travelling for Muscat. During search of his luggage, the customs officials found 550 gram gold that he was trying to smuggle from Lahore to the Gulf state.

The Customs registered a case against Ibrar and seized the gold. The Customs investigation and prosecution team presented him before the customs court and sought his physical remand that the court approved for three days.

Customs Court approves 14 days judicial remand of accused LAHORE

M IMRAN MEHAR

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he special federal court of customs taxation and anti smuggling has approved a 14 days judicial remand of the accused who was arrested by the customs authorities from Lahore on charges of smuggling powder milk by showing it as plastic raw material.

According to sources the accused Zahid Rasheed was nabbed by the customs intelligence while he was trying to smuggle a huge quantity of powder milk of different brands. Customs intelligence on a tip-off intercepted a truck in suburbs of Lahore and found it loaded with international branded powder milk. After that customs intelligence on base of investiga-

PRA registers 287 beauty saloons under BIMS unjab Revenue Authority has registered 287 beauty related services parlor under newly formed Beauty Parlour Invoice Monitoring System.

After the successful roll-out of Restaurant Invoice Monitoring System (RIMS), Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) has now developed Beauty Parlours Invoice Monitoring System (BIMS) in collaboration with Punjab Information Technology Board. A meeting was held with Hair and Beauty Salons Association representatives at PRA main building, Lahore, and they were formally invited to get themselves updated on the recent developments. Earlier, PRA has initiated a summary wherein a reduced rate scheme for the beauty parlours has been approved by the government. At present, registration in beauty services sector stands at 287 registered tax payers yielding about Rs3 million to Rs 4 million a month. –CB Report

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tion raided at a warehouse and found a huge quantity of powder milk. Customs teams found 9349 bags of powder milk of different brands. Weight of the recovered powder was 232,000 kilo grams.

The seized milk is said to be worth Rs70 million.

A source said that smuggled milk is of American, Turkish, Holland, Korean and Indian origin and was smuggled by different routs especially from Afghanistan. A team of customs investigation on Monday presented the accused Zahid Rasheed before the court of Ch. Aqal Hussain special judge in the court of customs taxation and anti smuggling and asked for remand of five days to complete investigation from the accused.

After listening arguments from both sides the customs court handed over the accused to investigation team for two days.

Customs Preventive collects Rs 22710 million duty, taxes

LAHORE

M HAYAT

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ollectorate of Customs Preventive has collected Rs 22710 million duty and

Pakistan exports to India at Wagha increased 14% during eight months

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akistani exports to India increased 14 percent in Qirst eight months of the Qiscal year of 2016 17. According to sources of Customs Today Pakistan exported items worth Rs29 billion from July 2016 to March 2017. Pakistani exports to country India increased 14 percent as compared to the same period of the previous Qiscal year.

Exports to India in the same period were stand at Rs25 billion. Even tensed conditions on borders, line of control and working boundary Pak-

istan has successfully increased its exports to India. It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan Customs at Wagha earned a huge amount of taxes through these exports. Due to increase in exports to India Pakistan customs has started construction of a huge dry port at Wagha border in which huge warehouses are also included. In last eight months Pakistan has exported gypsum, dry dates, fruits, vegetables, cement and precious stones to India through Wagha trade route. –CB Report

taxes in July to March 2016-17.

As per details, the Collectorate of Preventive collected Rs 6143 million customs duty during March against the proposed target of Rs 6701 million for the month.

Similarly, the collectoarte collected Rs 10502 million on account of sales taxes during the month un-

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der review against the target of Rs 10189 million. On the other hand the Collectorate collected Rs 5895 million withholding tax against the target of Rs 6788 million for the months from July to March FY 2017.

Likewise the Collectoarte collected Rs 168 million on account of federal excise duty (FED) during the nine months against Rs 79 million proposed target for the period under review. Overall the Collectoarte collected Rs 22710 million duty and taxes during the nine month from July to March. Sources told Customs Today that Collector of Customs Preventive Ch Zulfiqar Ali has directed officers and official all alike to do more to achieve financial year’s target and go after the tax evaders and never give up to any undue pressure. Similarly the collector has also instructed to the Anti-Smuggling Organization to work more to curtail smuggling activities under the limits of the collectorate.

FBR sends notices to 50,000 non-filers he Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has sent a notice to 50, 000 non-Qilers who did not submit their returns till the due date of 15th of December 2016.

The Regional Tax OfQice-II (RTO-II) and Corporate Regional Tax OfQice (CRTO) have started action on the order by the Chairman Federal Board of Revenue and initially sent reminder notices to 50,000 non-Qilers out of 100,000 people who did not return their Qiles. The Chief Commissioner Corporate Regional Tax OfQice (CRTO) and Chief Commissioner Regional Tax OfQice-II (RTO-II) directed all the Zonal Commissioners to take serious action

against the non-Qilers. The zonal commissioner prepared a list of non-Qilers and put notices on the house addresses if non-Qilers do not reply of notices by the RTOs ofQice then Regional Tax OfQices will take action against the non-Qilers under the law and imposed Qines on them. Sources told Customs Today that Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) ordered all the Regional Tax OfQices of Pakistan to send reminder notices to the non-Qilers and receive their tax returns. In any hindrance, RTOs can take action for the tax recovery from those who did not return their Qiles on the given dates. –CB Report

FTO adjourns case of Royal Trading against RTO-II

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LAHORE

SAJID NAWAZ

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he Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has adjourned a case Qiled by proprietor The Royal Trading Company Lahore against the Regional Tax OfQice (RTO-II) Lahore until the next date of hearing.

FTO Advisor Tariq Yousaf Con-

sultant (I&M) heard the case Qiled

by Muhammad Umer, proprietor of The Royal Trading Company Lahore.

The counsel for appellant argued that the RTO has failed to release the sales tax refund to the appellant since two years.

He said the RTO-II collected excessive tax from the company during the last two years. The petitioner approached the ofQicials concerned

several times for issuance of the refunds, but the RTO ofQicials failed to clear the refunds even after the passage of reasonable time.

Finally, the appellant decided to approach the FTO seeking interference in this case. The counsel appealed the FTO advisor to direct the RTO-II to clear the refund claims.

The counsel further said the delay in issuance of refunds put the

burden on the taxpayer as the RTOII should make audit of the cases and release the extra amount collected by it from the taxpayer.

On the other hand, counsel for RTO-II argued that the appellant has not submitted all record in the ofQice for claim of refunds. If appellant provides accurate record, the RTO-II will issue the refunds after a proper assessment, he added.

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Wicklow Port to receive funding WASHINGTON: Wicklow Port has been allocated a total of €219,750 for works due to take place at the east pier and north and south quays. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, announced on Monday that Wicklow would be included as part of a €2.8 million package to assist 13 local authorities with repair works to harbours and slipways owned by them. Wicklow County Council will receive €111,000 for strengthening and improvement works at the east pier and an additional €108,750 for strengthening and improvement works at south quay and north quay. In September of last year Wicklow Port became the first port transferred to the local authority under the National Ports Policy which was approved by the Government and published in 2013.

London’s ports plan massive Thames growth he Port of London Authority (PLA) has found that its ‘Thames Vision’, a 20 year development framework for the UK capital’s river, shows that port trade could grow by as much as 30 million tonnes over the next 20 years to 80 million tonnes. The PLA’s first port infrastructure meeting discussed the road, rail, river and crossing connections needed to unlock the forecast growth of the port over the next 20 years and build upon last year’s Thames trade of 50 million tonnes an increase of more than 10% on the previous year. The UK’s Shipping Minister, John Hayes MP, and Deputy Mayor of London for Transport, Val Shawcross, were among more than 30 business leaders and politicians who joined the event with representatives from strategically impor-

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tant port and terminals, including Forth Ports, DP World London Gateway, Shell, Ford, Tate & Lyle, Tarmac and Cemex. Hayes said: “Ports play a vital role in the UK economy as the gateway for our exports and we want to see them flourish. “Improving road, rail and river transport links will significantly boost the connections between our ports and key markets. “That is why we have launched a Port Connectivity Study to explore ways to improve our transport links and support economic growth for the next 10 years.

“We are already making record investments in transport, with £15 billion on road schemes and over £40 billion on the rail network, and meeting with industry leaders is crucial in ensuring that the needs of our great ports are met. –CB Report

Ports & Shipping

PPA consults stakeholders on 25-year port roadmap WASHINGTON

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he Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) recently held a national summit to get recommendations from stakeholders and port managers for the Qirst 25-year roadmap it is crafting for the country’s port system. PPA assistant general manager for operations Hector Miole told PortCalls on the sidelines of the summit that PPA “has not done a long-term planning for some time,” and this is the Qirst time it is involving stakeholders in planning.

Miole said they are involving stakeholders in roadmap development so “our plans will be responsive and it will meet their needs.” The roadmap, he noted, will be Qlexible and will undergo periodic review to incorporate changes or updates. The roadmap will be submitted to PPA’s mother agency, Department of Transportation, for approval.

Along with the long-term plan, the port agency is also crafting a Qive-

year plan of doable and short-term measures. The three PPA clusters – Luzon, Vizayas, and Mindanao – have already presented their proposed Qive-year and 25 year plans for their regions. Among the proposals are plans for cruise shipping, industrial ports/zoning management, longterm infrastructure development, climate change resilience, inter-connectivity, and supply chain development. According to Miole, PPA is also following the four “S” characteristics of “ports of the fu-

ture,” which are speed, smart, sustainable, and size. The four “S” was Qirst presented by shipping and transport expert Olaf Merk of thinktank International Transport ForumOrganization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Miole said it is important that ports are made “future-proof” and adaptable to the needs of the shipping industry. Size is a consideration for ports of the future because as ships get bigger, “ports have to correspond to meet shipping needs,” Miole said.

Wednesday May 3, 2017

PD Ports optimises resource planning with BI D Ports has embraced business intelligence in its operations to optimise processes and plan better for future resource allocation.

Speaking at Navis World, Ian Richardson, application specialist at PD Ports, explained how the UK port operator had adopted business intelligence (BI) and associated tailored reports to reduce the number of RTGs needed for a ship call and to enhance labour allocations to meet the needs of busier gate periods. “We use BI to identify opportunities and to measure results as we tackle the challenges going forward,” said Mr Richardson. He added that BI is for small and larger terminals alike and that Navis’ BI tools allow operators to create specific reports, one example being a tailored report for each beneficial cargo owner, which he said had been well received. However, Bryan Miller, director of professional services at Navis, cautioned that BI is “just a hammer; the hard work is how you integrate it, adopt it and make it work for you.”–CB Report

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Abdullah port among world’s biggest ports K

WASHINGTON

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ing Abdullah Port landed the 98th spot among the world’s biggest container ports for 2016, up from 104th the previous year, according to Alphaliner, a global maritime data originator. Alphaliner’s report ranks ports based on capacity, measured by units of standard twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers. According to the report, King Abdullah Port had raised its handling capacity from 1.3 million TEU per year in 2015 to 1.4 million in 2016, an increase of 8%.

The report studied all ports with a capacity of 10,000 TEU per year or more, which amounted to just over 600. “We are proud to have attained such a ranking, which is yet another achievement for the Kingdom,” said Eng. Abdullah Hameedadin, Managing Director of the Ports Develop-

ment Company, owner and developer of King Abdullah Port. “It also afQirms the Kingdom’s status as a leader of the global maritime industry. This boost in inbound and outbound freight at Saudi ports is not only in line with the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision, but also an addendum to another achievement of 2016 – King Abdullah Port was named the world’s fastest-growing port.”

Hameedadin praised the roles of Saudi Customs, the Border Guard, and the Economic Cities Authority, along with all other stakeholders among the government agencies and private Qirms that operate at the port, for their support that helped the port achieve such feats in such a short period of time, integrating itself into the Saudi seaport infrastructure and helping to propel the national economy.

“King Abdullah Port is instrumental in boosting the national

economy and fostering growth, thanks to its role in creating business and new jobs,” said Hameedadin. “Our entry into the world’s top 100 container ports is a manifestation of our commitment to our goals, especially given the port’s state-of-the-art infrastructure and strategic location on the eastern coast of the Red Sea, which guarantees access to many markets and destinations for imports and exports in the Kingdom.” King Abdullah Port announced receiving 729 vessels in 2016 compared to 637 vessels in 2015. With completion of the infrastructure works for Berth 5 and Berth 6, King Abdullah Port’s annual capacity increases to 4 million TEU after making preparations for the two new berths to begin operations in 2017, providing greater competitiveness and further access to the most important trade capitals in the region and the world.

Since King Abdullah Port started operations in 2014, it has managed to signiQicantly strengthen its capacity and achieve major accomplishments in terms of the project evolution in general and the operations taking place in it. Also, King Abdullah Port was able to establish partnerships with the largest container shipping companies such a Maersk Line, MSC and CMA CGM. The Kingdom had helmed the growth of container shipping rates in the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East, growing 5.1%. The Kingdom contributed 28% of the annual increase in imports, especially of chemicals, bucking the global trend of subpar growth, which averaged a mere 1.9%, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group, which stated that demand for new containers had dropped in late 2015 after a temporary rise in 2014.

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ANF apprehends two drug smugglers PESHAWAR: The Anti-Narcotics Force, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, arrested two smugglers in separate crackdowns and recovered 6.80 kilogram narcotics from their possession on Sunday. The ANF Peshawar arrested Umer Said while he was boarding for Saudi Arabia and seized 2.050 kg amphetamine. In second operation, the ANF Peshawar arrested Sadaqat Hussain and recovered 30 gram opium and 2 kg hashish. In a separate operation, the ANF Peshawar intercepted an SUV (LG-640) on Murree Road, Abbottabad, and seized 2 kg hashish from Muhammad Kashif, Wasim Khan and Mazhar Hussain.

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

CUSTOMS BULLETIN

Faisalabad Customs holds auction of non duty paid goods, vehicles FAISALABAD NAEEM SHEIKH

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he Customs Intelligence and Investigation has generated Rs12,70,000 through the auction of conQiscated goods and dismantled vehicles lying in the state warehouse of the customs.

As per details, almost 12 dismantled impounded vehicles were presented for auction in the open sale at the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Range OfQice Faisalabad. It items which were offered for bidding included heavy duty generators, cloth, curtain cloth, and various LEDs. All items were seized by the Customs Intelligence staff during raids against smuggler. Other lots were rejected as the bids were not made by the participant as per the average price set by customs. The auction was held through open bidding where everyone was given opportunity for the bidding of conQiscated goods and vehicles. Assistant Director Ittrat Hussain, supervised the auction process to ensure transparency along with Intelligence ofQicer Muhammad Saleem and Muhammad Ramzan. While auctioneer Muhammad Akram was conducted the auction by opening the price of various vehicles and miscellaneous goods.

Customs court directs IOs to seize all properties of POs in 32 cases KARACHI

M B RANA

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ustoms (Taxation & AntiSmuggling) Court Judge Syed Faiz Rasool Rashdi directed the investigation ofQicers to seize all moveable and immoveable properties of absconder accused named Muhammad Naeem Qureshi s/o Muhammad Rustam declared Proclaimed Offender in 32

different cases of mis-declaration and tax evasion causing losses of billions of rupees to national exchequer.

During the hearing, investigation ofQicers Qasim Ali Alvi, Abdul Rasheed, Muhammad Sadique, Rana Gulzar, Akmal Hashmi and Syed Adnan Kafeel submitted a report of the proceedings against him under Section 87 (proclamation for person absconding) and 88 (attachment of property of person absconding) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The court issued time and again non-bailable warrants against him

but police failed to execute the warrants. At a previous hearing, the court asked the investigation ofQicer to initiate proceedings of proclamation and attachment of property. It needs to be pertained here that the accused was involved in 32 cases, most of which were registered in 2008. Almost in all the cases, said accused had been charge-sheeted under Section 512 (record of evidence in absence of accused) of the criminal procedure code and shown as absconder in police investigation reports.

Meanwhile, Customs Court Judge Syed Faiz Rasool Rashdi has

sent a woman accused, Fehmida w/o Muhammad Karim, to Central Jail Karachi on judicial remand who allegedly attempted to smuggle contraband Saudi Riyal 100,000 from Sharjah to Karachi.

The court also directed the investigation ofQicer to complete the investigation and submit a challan before the next date of hearing.

During the hearing, investigation ofQicer produced her before the court and informed it that on a credible information, the staff of modal customs collectorate, preventive customs house Karachi, recovered Saudi Riyal 100000

Published by M S Raza OďŹ&#x20AC;# 42, 3rd Flr Gull Plaza M.A Road Karachi, Printed by Dhoom Printing Building No RY/A, 11/6,11/7, Mashoor Mahal,oďŹ&#x20AC; I.I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi

from her possession. During the search, the lady was asked to produce lawful documents, however she failed to do so therefore said currency was seized and the woman was arrested. After the arguments, the court sent her to jail and directed the investigation ofQicer to submit a progress report on the next date of hearing. According to the prosecution, a case was registered in violation of section 2 (s) 16 and 139 of the Customs Act-1969, punishable under clauses (8) (9) & 70 of section 156 (i) ibid read with notiQication of The State Bank of Pakistan.