ISLAMABAD, Jul 21 (APP):Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood on Tuesday briefed the ministry officials on the progress on implementation of duty drawback rates recalculation exercise. The advisor chaired a meeting on duty drawbacks at Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday to discuss the progress on various initiatives by the ministry in this regard, said a press release. The meeting was attended by senior officers of Ministry of Commerce.
The advisor said duty drawback was an essential part of international trade which was covered under the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules as well as the laws of the country. Reviewing the progress on the interventions by Ministry of Commerce, it was informed that Ministry of Commerce had earlier selected 11 sectors for recalculation, out of which Duty Drawback revised rates had been duly notified in three sectors, including Leather Hides, Plastic Goods and Carpets. The exercise for remaining 8 sectors was in final stages and would be finalized shortly.
According to the press release, the changes in Customs Act 1969 and Customs Rules, which cover the procedures of payment of Duty Drawbacks, were also shared during the meeting. Under the amended Act and Rules, Duty Drawbacks would be directly credited to the bank accounts of the exporters by the State Bank of Pakistan. The calculation of the duty drawback amounts would be done by Pakistan Customs computerized System WeBOC without any human involvement based on Risk Management System. However, this requires a secure line for data sharing between Pakistan Customs database and State Bank of Pakistan, which is under process and would be completed in the next month.
It was further explained that under the new rules all kinds of duties including Customs Duty, Additional Customs Duty, Special Customs Duty and Regulatory Duty will now be part of Duty Drawback. In addition to make the process of calculation of rates of Duty Drawback hassle free, Director General IOCO has been authorized, through change of Rules, to calculate the rates at 6HS or 4HS Codes instead of detailed exercise at 8HS Codes level if the variation is within 10% in a particular sector. Commenting on the amended rules, Abdul Razak Dawood reiterated that use of locally produced raw material may be incentivized to reduce reliance on imported goods and to boost industrialization in the country.
At the end of the meeting, Abdul Razak Dawood desired that after the completion of the exercise in 11 sectors, the focus should be shifted to developmental sectors including Chemicals, Engineering, Iron and Steel, Ceramics and Pharmaceuticals. He further directed his team to prepare a plan for the entire exercise, which would be shared with businessmen for their feedback.