News
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Plan to levy transit fee on NATO tankers* Approval of finance bill to empower customs to negotiate and fix the rate of fee
By Sajid Chaudhry
ISLAMABAD: The government of Pakistan has decided to impose transit fee in US dollars on transit containers of the NATO forces operating in Afghanistan as well as Afghan containers imported under transit agreement.
The Senate Standing Committee on Finance, which met at Parliament House on Friday with Senator Ahmed Ali in the chair, was informed that at present this is only a proposal and when it would be got approved along with the finance bill from National Assembly, Pakistan would decide the rate of transit fee and its collection mechanism in consultation with the NATO and Afghan authorities in due course.
Keeping in view the usefulness of this proposal, the committee endorsed a Federal Board of Revenue proposal to levy transit fee in US dollars on transit containers of the NATO forces operating in Afghanistan as well as Afghan containers using Pakistan’s infrastructure. FBR officials informed the committee that volume of containers have increased manifolds in the recent years and to manage this volume of transit containers use of Pakistan’s infrastructure, especially computerised services, scanners, manpower and its equipments, has increased. The FBR has proposed in the finance bill to allow customs to levy transit fee on NATO and Afghan containers.
The committee was also informed that in this regard, the FBR has introduced an amendment in the Customs Act, 1969 stating that grant of transit facility has increased customs facilitation and allied operations manifold. In order to provide self-sustaining infrastructure and services at customs stations and en route, an enabling provision for collection of transit fee has been introduced through Finance Bill 2011 with inclusion of new section 129A in the Customs Act, 1969. The committee appreciated the proposal and was of the view that this should have happened earlier.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk