Implementation of Form-I to create additional liability for service sector: APCAA

All Pakistan Customs Agents Association (APCAA) has said that implementation of Form-I will not only create additional liability for service sector but also put excessive financial burden on national kitty. Talking to Business Recorder, Arshad Jamal, Vice Chairman APCAA, said that trade facilitation, swift clearance and transparency were essential for any system but when any new system was introduced by FBR, there was a vested interest behind it.
He said that a presentation had recently been delivered in collaboration with Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Form-I and added that authorities during presentation claimed that form-I implementation was aimed at avoiding under invoicing and money laundering issues. He said that similar claims had been made when PaCCS was launched and later FBR itself opposed it with the rationale that the system was a serious threat to the national security and introduced WeBOC with tall claims. However, the swift clearance in WeBOC is still a daydream due to its complex procedures that led to corruption. Moreover, Arshad said that there was no automation in WeBOC, which was presently running manually and urged the board to make WeBOC user-friendly and transformed it into complete automated system.
He said that if complete descriptions including names of exporters/importers, address and telephone numbers were taken in Goods Declarations, there was no need to introduce Form-I. He also suggested the authority to follow the old procedure and transfer the details of GDs or exchange copies to the SBP and termed the Form-I as additional liability on service sector, besides putting excessive financial burden on national kitty.
He said that Form-I was going to be introduced for wrongdoers, who were not more than one percent of the service sector and added that authority could improve the existing system through reforms. He said that SBP was unable to get transactional value as customs department had issued valuation rulings that led under invoicing and added that if the authority wanted to get transactional values, they had to squeeze the necks of Hawala-Hundi operators.
He feared that if the clearance system was not eased with maximum facilitation to the stakeholders, taxpayers would lose their confidence that would cause malpractices and allow unauthorised agents to take control of the system and urged the authority to reduce procedural steps and update the clearance system. He said that Form-I was also going to implement with no changes, which, he opined, will not yield results.