Proceedings of the 13th Meeting of
The COMCEC Trade Working Group
15
7.4. Pakistan
Mr. Rizwan BASHIR, Secretary of Federal Board of Revenue in Pakistan, delivered a
presentation regarding availability of customs information in Pakistan.
Mr. Bashir briefly drew an outline for the presentation. He informed participants by sharing
the organizational structure of the Pakistan Customs and stated that customs administration in
Pakistan is a part of Revenue Division of Ministry of Finance. Furthermore, Mr. Bashir
mentioned that there are 5 seaports, 17 Laud Border Stations, 10 Airport terminals, 2 Railway
terminals which work as national entry and exit points of Pakistan.
Mr. Bashir, then, gave some information regarding to public availability of customs
information. He stated that Pakistan is compliant to TFA; for publication of information with
category A, information availability in internet with category B, in terms of enquiry points with
category B and category A in the context of notification. He emphasized that all the
information regarding trade and customs is available in the customs website. The website is
also a portal for the publication of new arrangements, laws and procedures.
Besides, Mr. Bashir informed participants in terms of advance rulings in Pakistan. He
highlighted that advance ruling system in valuation is very effective in Pakistan. Though,
generally, advance ruling system still needs to be improved a lot.
Moreover, he shared some information on the Web-Based One Custom (WeBOC) project in
Pakistan. He pointed out that the WeBOC system provides electronic filling, paperless
environment, 7/24 operations, end to end integration, speedy clearance for the risk
management system, post-clearance audit-based controls. He emphasized that, the WeBOC
also provides an e-payment module for deposits of duty and taxes. Mr. Bashir highlighted that
the system cover all the transaction processes, cargos, customs stations and the relevant
authorities. He emphasized that the system provides a real-time integration between all the
stakeholders of the trade process.
Finally, Mr. Bashir mentioned about the major challenges they face. The first challenge, he
emphasized, is the fast race of international trade. Countries have to be very competitive. He
mentioned that the second challenge is transit and transhipment challenges. Besides all these,
Mr. Bashir stated that customs has to evolve beyond traditional functions to play a facilitative
role for national development. He also expressed that an OIC customs committee for
information sharing would be useful for all Member Countries.
7.5. Turkey
Mr. Hakkı GÜRKAN, Expert in Directorate General of International Agreements and European
Union Affairs in Ministry of Trade of Republic of Turkey, has delivered a presentation
regarding the customs information systems in Turkey.