LAHORE: Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) Lahore Chapter has called upon the government to simplify the procedure of clearing the imported goods at the national ports as cumbersome existing procedure is resulting in unwanted delays and non-availability of containers for export items.

The PBF referred to a recent statement of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Asim Ahmad in the Senate Standing Committee on Finance in which he claimed that 3000 containers are stuck at Port Qasim amid clearance issues.

PBF Lahore Chapter President Muhammad Ejaz Tanveer in a statement issued here on Thursday also claimed that 640 containers carrying food and cosmetics have already expired.

The rest of the containers have mobile phones, vehicles, home appliances and furniture. These containers are stuck because of container import policy orders; misdeclaration and the letters of credit (LCs) weren’t open, while some were struck due to the import ban. Ejaz said that containers carrying imported items and made available for export items after clearance so delay in import clearance means non-availability of containers for exports.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022