- Declarations of imported goods will be assigned to the CAU according to the new system.
- Introduction of incentive-based performance management for greater efficiency.
- Move to bring a major change in the work and overall culture of the Customs Service.
ISLAMABAD, KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has launched its Faceless Customs Assessment (FCA) system as part of its tax sector reform efforts, News reported Sunday.
The new system comes into effect today (December 15).
The FCA, a key part of the FBR transformation plan approved by the Prime Minister, requires declarations of imported goods lodged after midnight on December 14 with valuation collectors in Karachi to be assessed by the Central Valuation Unit ( CAU).
The CAU has been established at the South Asia-Pakistan Terminal in Karachi as per CGO No. 6 of 2024 issued by the FBR last week.
The move is likely to bring a significant change in the overall culture and functioning of the Customs department and would also facilitate trade by reducing customs clearance time, thereby ensuring efficiency and transparency of assessments.
Once the first phase is successfully completed in Karachi, the FCA would then be deployed to ports and border posts in the interior of the country and the customs valuation function would be transferred outside the customs administrations.
Additionally, an incentive-based performance management mechanism was introduced to improve productivity and ensure accountability of Customs Assessing Officers stationed in the CAU.
This mechanism would reward assessing officers who carry out their duties with diligence and integrity.
Furthermore, the eligibility criteria and licensing regime for customs brokers have also been revamped and a point-based rating system is being introduced to hold them accountable for correct and quality declarations.
Under the point rating system, customs brokers who provide true and honest declarations regarding description, value and origin, etc., will get more points and their profile will improve. Conversely, civil servants who do not demonstrate improvements in their declarations would lose points which could potentially lead to the cancellation of their license.
Explaining the rationale and expected results of the FCA at a press briefing, Chief Valuation Collector of Customs Karachi Jamil Nasir said the system was part of the continuing process of customs reforms aimed at facilitating trade and reduce interactions between tax authorities. collectors and taxpayers.
He added that the assessment function would be transferred outside customs collection into a corporate environment where assistant and deputy collectors would also be transferred to conduct electronic hearings of examinations and in this way, the interaction between tax collectors and taxpayers would be almost eliminated.
Noting that the introduction of the FCA is expected to bring about a paradigm shift in the overall culture and functioning of the Customs Department, Nasir noted that traders and businessmen would be spared from visiting public offices and that the customs department would also be able to optimize the productivity of its scarce human resources. This would be a win-win situation for customs as well as traders.
Noting that data on the performance and productivity of assessing officers developed in the system over time can be used for their promotion and career progression, the Chief Collector termed this as the start of a new phase of reforms in customs and said several other reforms will follow soon.
Besides, the authorities have finalized all necessary arrangements for accommodation of assessors and senior assessors in a sanitized environment and 55 officers — including DC (MIS) — have already been posted to the CAU and will report to the SAPT on Monday at 9:00 am.