LAHORE - DG Customs Valuation Dr Farid Iqbal Qureshi Tuesday assured business community that Customs valuation office will be made operational in Lahore soon.
Talking to businessmen at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), the DG added that till opening of the Lahore office, they can join customs valuation meetings through zoom. “We have always a space for dialogue to promote national trade,” he claimed.
LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir and Vice President Haris Ateeq also spoke on the occasion while Executive Committee Members Mian Ateeq-ur-Rehman, Shahid Nazir, Shahzad Butt, former Senior Vice President Khawaja Khawar Rashid, Vice Presidents Kashif Anwar and Zeshan Khalil were also present.
Dr Farid said that the fixing of values of goods is an immense challenge but the department is dealing it in a winsome manner. “Customs Valuation department has an open-door policy for addressing all the grievances of the business community,” he maintained. DG Customs Valuation said that the department has to consider the directions of the government and issues like under invoicing whilst evaluation of the goods. He said that the evaluation is being determined by looking at the average international price of the goods.
The DG said that the department also conducts market surveys. He dispelled the impression that the Customs Valuation department done surveys only at mega stores saying that they also conduct surveys for wholesale markets to evaluate prices. Dr Farid appreciated the role being played by Lahore Chamber for a business-friendly environment in the country. He said that the methodology of determining the cost is difficult as the department has no data of cost of manufacturers in China is available which makes the things difficult.
LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir said it is the routine practice that majority of the meetings regarding valuation are held at Karachi. He said that these meetings should also be convened at Lahore as many importers and concerned businessmen belong to Lahore and its surrounding cities. Similarly, the meetings to deal with the revision applications of valuations should also be held in Lahore to save the time and cost of upcountry business community.
Mian Nauman Kabir said that sometimes import shipments are assessed for valuation on retail price of imported commodities which is always higher than the wholesale price. The Customs must understand that containers are booked in bulk and cut-rate prices are mentioned in import documents.
He said that the Customs officials issue the valuation ruling on the basis of market inquiry. He recommended that the key parameters and the procedure of market inquiry should be properly notified to bring more transparency in the valuation process. Moreover, a representative from local chamber or sector specific association must accompany the Customs officials when market inquiry is conducted for determining valuation of a certain commodity.
“There is another observation about Valuation Officers that they apply different parameters while assessing the valuation of separate import consignments containing similar items,” the LCCI President said and added that this results in lack of uniformity in prices. He said that this issue needs to be addressed on priority.
Mian Nauman Kabir said that such interactions are very important in developing sound working relations. He said, “I believe that together we can ensure conducive business environment by creating more ease for the business community.”