AGL 40.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.16 (-0.4%)
AIRLINK 129.53 Decreased By ▼ -2.20 (-1.67%)
BOP 6.68 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.15%)
CNERGY 4.63 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (3.58%)
DCL 8.94 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.36%)
DFML 41.69 Increased By ▲ 1.08 (2.66%)
DGKC 83.77 Decreased By ▼ -0.31 (-0.37%)
FCCL 32.77 Increased By ▲ 0.43 (1.33%)
FFBL 75.47 Increased By ▲ 6.86 (10%)
FFL 11.47 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.06%)
HUBC 110.55 Decreased By ▼ -1.21 (-1.08%)
HUMNL 14.56 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (1.75%)
KEL 5.39 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (3.26%)
KOSM 8.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-6.46%)
MLCF 39.79 Increased By ▲ 0.36 (0.91%)
NBP 60.29 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
OGDC 199.66 Increased By ▲ 4.72 (2.42%)
PAEL 26.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.15%)
PIBTL 7.66 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (2.41%)
PPL 157.92 Increased By ▲ 2.15 (1.38%)
PRL 26.73 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.19%)
PTC 18.46 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (0.87%)
SEARL 82.44 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-0.7%)
TELE 8.31 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.97%)
TOMCL 34.51 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.12%)
TPLP 9.06 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (2.84%)
TREET 17.47 Increased By ▲ 0.77 (4.61%)
TRG 61.32 Decreased By ▼ -1.13 (-1.81%)
UNITY 27.43 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.04%)
WTL 1.38 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (7.81%)
BR100 10,407 Increased By 220 (2.16%)
BR30 31,713 Increased By 377.1 (1.2%)
KSE100 97,328 Increased By 1781.9 (1.86%)
KSE30 30,192 Increased By 614.4 (2.08%)

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has directed Customs authorities in Balochistan to take urgent steps and enforcement measures to stop the smuggling of steel products from border areas.

In this regard, the FBR has issued instructions to the Chief Collector of Customs (Balochistan).

The FBR has issued instructions to the head of the customs in Balochistan province to tackle the menace of smuggling of steel products on a top priority basis.

The FBR has also directed the Chief Collector (Customs) to submit a report on anti-smuggling measures and seizures to the Board by April 4 (Thursday), the FBR’s instructions added.

When contacted, sources said that the issue was mainly related to the smuggling of steel from Iran. The industry is apprehended that Eid holidays are availed to smuggle huge consignments and to dump the same in big purpose-built stores in Balochistan.

The quantum of smuggled steel products is so huge that the domestic steel industry is almost wiped out near border areas. The inflow of steel in such a large quantity is promoting and fuelling the undocumented sector and systematically destroying the legitimate industry of the country.

According to the government’s official figures, during February 2024, over 22,000 MT of steel material was dumped from Iran via land route which includes steel slabs, steel bars, steel angles, sections, and pipes and plates among other things.

In general market, the price of re-rollable is $500-$520. Whereas, these materials are assessed at $380 - $420 at the border by Customs authorities (Taftan mainly).

The official import data through Balochistan Customs Posts of February 2024 shows that a large number of trollers were cleared at 60 percent to 70 percent of their actual weight. This means that while officially 22,000MT was imported during the period, the actual quantities must be much higher and could be to the tune of 30 to 35,000 MT. The inflow of this illegally brought material is killing the demand for steel in Punjab and eventually disturbing the entire domestic steel market.

There is no mechanism to share information on goods being exported or imported from and to Iran.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024

Comments

Comments are closed.