KARACHI: President Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, while expressing deep concerns over the huge backlog of consignments at the ports, urged the authorities to expedite the consignment clearance process to mitigate potential losses faced by the business community due to delays that were causing demurrage and detention losses.
Jawed Bilwani recommended establishing separate processing queues for Manufacturers-cum-Exporters, General Industries, and Commercial Importers.
By operating these queues concurrently, the clearance process can be streamlined, ensuring timely processing for each category, minimising disruptions in business operations, and bringing discrimination to an end.
Underscoring the need to swiftly process industrial goods which were currently being handled at par with regular commercial imports, he said: “The emerging situation at the ports demands a war footing strategy for clearing the backlog of consignments by keeping all types of clearing-related activities including banks and customs fully operational on Saturdays and Sundays until the port congestion is completely dealt and port activities return to normalcy.”
He said that the step to keep clearing-related services operational on Saturday and Sunday must be implemented with immediate effect otherwise the backlog could severely disrupt industrial operations, exports, and trade activities across Pakistan.
Bilwani said that to ensure timely clearance of consignments and avoid unnecessary delays, an effective plan of action should be devised to clear all consignments daily. The implementation of this plan would eliminate the need for “urgent declarations” as all entries would be processed efficiently within the proposed system of separate functional queues for manufacturers-cum-exporters, general industries, and commercial importers. This approach would prevent the accumulation of pending entries, fostering a smoother and more predictable clearance process while reducing pressure on the system, he added.
He further suggested that to enhance accountability and efficiency in the consignment clearance process, appraisers should be required to record their attendance biometrically at the start and end of each workday to ensure transparency in work hours, besides meeting predefined daily targets assigned to them for processing consignment entries, which would ensure timely and effective completion of tasks. “Implementing these measures will improve workforce discipline, optimise resource utilisation, and contribute to achieving the overarching goal of clearing entries without delays.”
He was of the view that systemic issues were not only delaying industrial input clearance but also escalating costs, disrupting production schedules, and diminishing export competitiveness. Such challenges lead to compounding the economic difficulties faced by businesses across the country. “Priority actions should include 1) Providing a level playing field to manufacturers-cum-exporters, General industries & commercial importers, 2) Resolving resource shortages to reduce bottlenecks, and 3) Enhancing accountability and transparency in customs operations and bringing down the cost of doing business.
While appreciating FBR’s move to introduce Faceless Customs Clearance Assessment under FBR’s Transformation Plan, he anticipated that this initiative would improve customs clearance process, save time and resources in addition to reducing delays.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024