Textile Industry Slams FBR Over 40-Hour Customs Delay

In practice, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has triggered concern over delays and rising costs under the Faceless Customs Assessment (FCA) system in Karachi, urging the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to retain the Central Appraising Unit (CAU) in the.

Key points

• These problems have led to demurrage and detention charges, blocked working capital and disruptions to export production.
• The committee reportedly discovered no improvement in assessment quality and advised against further rollout pending review.
• The association remarked relocation could result in the loss of experienced appraisers, weaker coordination, further costs and disruptions to clearance operations.
• APTMA further proposed a standing review committee comprising FBR, APTMA, the Pakistan Business Council, FPCCI, KCCI, OICCI and customs agents' associations to monitor implementation and address recurring problems.
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In a letter to FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial, APTMA Chairman Asad Shafi remarked importers continue to face delays, arbitrary valuation increases, classification disputes, repeated examinations and laboratory referrals despite almost 21 months of FCA operations.

These problems have led to demurrage and detention charges, blocked working capital and disruptions to export production. FBR Orders Textile Mills to Install Cameras.

APTMA cited findings reportedly created by FBR's own review committee. It demonstrated that average assessment time rose from 25.6 to 40.2 hours, while clearance within 48 hours declined from 84 percent to 70 percent.

Extra revenue secured at assessment fell from 16 percent to 13 percent, review requests climbed from 6 percent to 14 percent, referrals to senior officers rose from 6 percent to 11 percent, and laboratory referrals almost doubled. The committee reportedly discovered no improvement in assessment quality and advised against further rollout pending review.

In practice, the association remarked its members face delays at assessment, review, examination and laboratory stages, rejection of declared values without adequate reasons, outdated valuation rulings and inconsistent classification. It additionally flagged a loss of specialist expertise in textiles, chemicals and machinery, repeated queries, poor coordination among assessment and laboratory staff, and WeBOC/PSW outages that delay clearance of Export Finance Scheme consignments. Pakistan Textile Industry Heartbroken After SBP Announcement.

As Karachi handles most seaborne imports and has examination facilities, laboratories, terminals and technical personnel near the ports, APTMA cautioned that moving the CAU to Islamabad could worsen these difficulties.

Meanwhile, the association remarked relocation could result in the loss of experienced appraisers, weaker coordination, further costs and disruptions to clearance operations. It continued that faceless assessment could be maintained through random electronic allocation without physically relocating the unit.

In practice, the association pressed FBR to retain the CAU in Karachi and suspend further FCA rollout or major changes until an independent review and consultation with industry. It additionally called on a backlog clearance cell, priority for export-oriented imports, binding assessment and review timelines, automatic delay certificates, restored specialist assessment desks, updated valuation rulings, improved examination and laboratory coordination, and monthly publication of FCA performance data.

Notably, the association remarked it supports FBR's goal of a transparent, efficient and fair customs system and requested an early gathering with the board's leadership to discuss practical solutions. Stay Connected with ProPakistani.

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Taken together, the developments around textile Industry Slams FBR Over 40 point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.