LawPoint

In the light of the new amendments to the Customs Baggage Rules, an outbound international passenger is now required to file a declaration to Customs, either electronically or in person, before or on departure at the airport. This obligation applies to passengers of all ages, alongwith their legal entitlement to carry foreign currency in accordance with their entitlement, i.e.,

• US $ 1,000 upto the age of 5 years, or
• US $ 5,000 for passengers above 5 years, or 
• US $ 10,000 US S for pasengers upto 18 years and above

The persons travelling to Afghanistan with the legal entitlement to carry US $1,000 shall file a declaration of currency in their possession, in the Form titled Appendix-C.

All incoming passengers who possess foreign currency in excess of US $ 10,000 or equivalent shall also file a declaration to Customs.

FBR has amended the previously promulgated SRO 693(I)/2006 dated 01-07-2006, the legal framework for the levy of Additional Customs Duty on imports of automotive components and sub-components used for the assembly of vehicles in the country. The main purpose underlying the amending Notification No. SRO 1930(I)/2022 dated 18-10-2022 is to substitute the product description of automotive components and sub-components as has been adopted with the re-modelling of the First Schedule (Customs Tariff) to the Customs Act, 1969, on the basis of the 2022 version of the Harmonized System.

Most of the amendments have been made in the Appendix II of SRO 693(I)/2006 dated 01-07-2006, whereby product descriptions in 30 tariff lines have been revised. Appendix-I has undergone changes to the extent of four tariff lines only.

FBR has amended the previously promulgated SRO 966(I)/2022 dated 30-06-2022, the legal framework for the imposition of Regulatory Duty on imports into the country, vide SRO 1953(I)/2022 dated 24-10-2022. The rationale behind amending SRO 966(I)/2022 dated 30-06-2022 is to grant immediate relief to the stranded import cargo at the ports from the payment of Regulatory Duty, and therefore to minimize the cost of clearance associated with it.

It may be recalled that the Ministry of Commerce vide SRO No. 598(1)/2022 dated 19-05-2022 had imposed a ban on the import of the so-called ‘non-essential’ imports to reduce the import bill of the country. This ban was withdrawn recently, which paved the way for the clearance of the stranded cargo, which had reached the national seaports by the time the import ban had come into vogue.

It is important to note that exemption from the payment of Regulatory Duty is available in cases where Customs Goods Declarations have been filed on or after the 22nd day of August, 2022, and where the surcharge calculated as per Office Memoranda, dated 22-07-2022, 19-08-2022 and 23-08-2022, issued by Ministry of Commerce is higher than the cumulative revenue impact of Regulatory Duty and Additional Customs Duty levied vide SRO 1571(1)/2022 and SRO 1572(I)/2022, both dated the 22-08-2022, respectively.

FBR has amended the previously promulgated SRO 966(I)/2022 dated 30-06-2022, the legal framework for the imposition of Additional Customs Duty on imports into the country, vide SRO 1954(I)/2022 dated 24-10-2022. The rationale behind amending SRO 966(I)/2022 dated 30-06-2022 is to grant immediate relief to the stranded import cargo at the ports from the payment of Additional Customs Duty, and therrfore to minimize the cost of clearance associated with it.

It may be recalled that the Ministry of Commerce vide SRO No. 598(1)/2022 dated 19-05-2022 had imposed a ban on the import of the so-called ‘non-essential’ imports to reduce the import bill of the country. This ban was withdrawn recently, which paved the way for the clearance of the stranded cargo, which had reached the national seaports by the time the import ban had come into vogue.

It is important to note that exemption from the payment of Additional Customs Duty is available in cases where Customs Goods Declarations have been filed on or after the 22nd day of August, 2022, and where the surcharge calculated as per Office Memoranda, dated 22-07-2022, 19-08-2022 and 23-08-2022, issued by Ministry of Commerce is higher than the cumulative revenue impact of Regulatory Duty and Additional Customs Duty levied vide SRO 1571(1)/2022 and SRO 1572(I)/2022, both dated the 22-08-2022, respectively.