Amendment in Customs Rules, 2001 regarding amendment in TIR Rules

GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN (REVENUE DIVISION) FEDERAL BOARD OF REVENUE ***** NOTIFICATION (CUSTOMS) Islamabad, the 10th January, 2024. S.R.O. 31 (1)/2024.- In exercise of the powers conferred by section 219 of the Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969), section 50 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, section 40 of the Federal Excise Act, 2005 and section 237 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 (XLIX of 2001), the Federal Board of Revenue is pleased to direct that the following further amendments shall be made in the Customs Rules, 2001, which, as required by sub-section (3A) of the said section 219, were previously published vide Notification No. S.R.0.933(1)/2023, dated the 12th day of July, 2023, namely:- In the aforesaid Rules,- 16vc, (1) in rule 689, in sub rule (1),- in clause (i), for the word "annexure" the word "annex" shall be substituted; clause (iia) shall be omitted; in clause (iv),- for the expression "(i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v) and (vi)", wherever occurring, the expression (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) shall be substituted; for sub-clause(e) amendments as aforesaid, the expression ", and", shall be omitted; and in sub-clause (f) amended as aforesaid, for the semicolon, the expression "; and", shall be added and thereafter the following new sub-clause shall be added, namely: "(g) having unique identification number or markings;"

in clause (ix), for the word "container" the word "containers"e" shall be substituted; in clause (xi), for the word "Board" the words "Ministry of Commerce" shall be substituted; in clause (xiv), for the words "the relevant provisions of these rules", the expression "rule 698" shall be substituted; for clause (xv), the following shall be substituted, namely:- "(xv) "import or export duties and taxes" means customs duties and all other duties, taxes, fees and other charges leviable at the time or in connection with the import or export under the Customs Act, 1969 (IV ofl 969) and any other law for the time being in force but not including fees and charges paid or payable for services rendered;"; 'eaCi - after clause (xviii), the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:- "(xvi i ia) "lease" means a legally binding and valid contract between two parties, where one party, the lessor allows the other party, the lessee, use of their vehicle(s) for a specific period of time against specific payment(s) and other terms and conditions;"; in clause (xx), for the expression "representatives of Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Interior and Association, as notified by the Board", the expression "Director, Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation, Customs, Karachi, Collector of Customs (Enforcement), Karachi and representatives from the Association" shall be substituted; in clause (xxiv), after the word "vehicle,", wherever occurring, the expression "with or without load compartment" shall be inserted; and for clause (xxvi), the following shall be substituted, namely:- "(xxvi) "supplementary financial guarantee" means an insurance guarantee from at least an "A" rated insurance company or defence saving certificate

duly pledged to Director, Transit Trade, Karachi obtained by the Association from the TIR Carnet t5 holder at the time of authorization to cover adjudged fines and penalties in case of any irregularity in respect of TIR operations, and also includes the bank guarantee or defence saving certificate deposited by the transport operators already licensed in terms of Chapter XXI (Sub-Chapter VII) & Chapter XXV (Sub-Chapter XI) of the Customs Rules, 2001;"; (2) in rule 691,- for clause (a), the following shall be substituted, namely:- "(a) by approved road vehicles (local as well as foreign) having individual certificate of approval issued by the respective vehicle authorization authority in accordance with the provision of Annex-2 and Annex-3 and such vehicles must display TIR plates as specified in Annex-5 to the Convention when carrying goods under the TIR regime,", in clause (b), for the expression "body, as provided in Annex-4 and each container", the expression "authority and" and for the expression "shown in Annex-5", the expression "as provided in Annex-7", shall be substituted; and clause (c) shall be omitted; 4v, (3) in rule 692,- after the word "approval of', the word "road" shall be inserted; after the word "authority", the expression "in case of vehicles and body in case of container", shall be omitted; after the words "designated authority", the words "or body" shall be omitted; and after the words "specimen provided in", the expression "Annex-2," shall be omitted;

in rule 693, in sub-rule (3), for the words "an unapproved vehicle", ei 94 the words "vehicle other than those approved for TIR" shall be substituted; in rule 695, in sub-rule (3), after the expression "endorsed by the Customs authorities", the expression "by an officer not below the rank of an Assistant Collector of Customs or Assistant Director of Customs", shall be inserted; in rule 696, in sub-rule (1),- (a) in clause (b), after the word "filed returns", the words "of last three years", shall be inserted and thereafter for the word "two", the word "three" shall be substituted; (b) in clause (c),- after sub-clause (ii), the word "and" shall be omitted and thereafter after sub-clause (iii), after semicolon, the word "and" shall be inserted; and 42- after sub-clause (iii), amended as aforesaid, the new sub- clause shallthe added, namely:- "(iv) in case of transport operators already licensed in terms of Chapter XXI (Sub-Chapter VII) and Chapter XXV (Sub- Chapter XI) of the Customs Rules, 2001 a minimum of twenty five vehicles registered in its name or leased: Provided that in case of vehicles acquired on lease, lease agreements for a period of one year must be provided for such vehicles: Provided further that the vehicle(s) leased by one transport operator shall not be used by another transport operator for the transportation of goods under TIR;"; (c) in clause (d), after the expression "Director, Directorate of Transit Trade, Pakistan Customs, Karachi", the expression "to cover any adjudged amount of fine and penalty: Provided that transport operators already licensed in terms of Chapter XXI (Sub-Chapter VII) & Chapter XXV (Sub-Chapter XI) of the Custom Rules, 2001 shall not be

required to furnish a separate supplementary guarantee and the bank guarantee or Defence Saving Certificate etc. already deposited with the Director of Transit Trade shall be used for this purpose" shall be inserted; in clause (g), after the word "respectively" full stop shall be added and thereafter, the words "The applicant should also be registered with the respective provincial sales tax authority;" shall be inserted; and in clause (k), after the word "valid registration", the words "lease agreement in case of leased vehicle", shall be inserted; 7) in rule 697,- for sub-rules (1) and (2), the following shall be substituted, namely:- "(1) A person seeking access to the TIR procedure shall file application with the Association, after initial scrutiny vis-a- vis requirements laid down in rule 646, the Association shall forward the same within thirty days to the Director Transit Trade, Karachi who shall call the meeting of national authorization committee. (2) the national authorization committee headed by Director Transit Trade, Karachi shall scrutinize the applicant's eligibility in terms of the criteria mentioned in rule 696 for grant of authorization as a transport operator. The Customs authorities shall announce their decision related to the applicant's authorization in no later than sixty days counted from the date on which the application was received by the Director Transit Trade from the Association provided that the application is complete in all respects and necessary verifications have been received from other departments;", in sub-rule (3), after the words "laid down in", the expression "sub-rule (1) of', shall be omitted; and after the words "under intimation", the words "with the approval of', shall be omitted; and after sub-rule (3), amended as aforesaid, the following new sub-rule shall be added, namely:-

• "(4) In case the license of a transport operator issued under Sub- Chapter VII of Chapter XXI and Chapter XXV (Sub- Chapter XI) of the Customs Rules is suspended or revoked by the respective licensing authority, the authorization to operate as transport operator under TIR shall also stand suspended or revoked and vice-versa."; in rule 698, in sub-rule (1), after the expression "in terms of Annex- 9 to the Convention, to persons", the expression "who have been authorized to operate as transport operator in terms of rule 696 and 697 for availing the TIR procedure", shall be substituted; in rule 699, in sub-rule (3),- k••• for heading "A. Exports under TIR", the heading "(A) Formalities applied for handling Export Cargo at Customs Office of Departure", shall be substituted; in heading (A), amended as aforesaid, in the clause (iii), after the words "weighment slip.", the expression "The load compartment or container shall be scanned subject to availability of scanner ", shall be inserted; and in heading (A), amended as aforesaid, clauses (ix), (x), (xi), (xii), and (xiii) shall be omitted, for heading, "(B) Transit under TIR", the heading "(B) Formalities applied for handling cargo at Customs office of entry or exit (en route)", shall be substituted; in heading (B), amended as aforesaid, in clause (i), the expression "in case of transit cargo,", shall be omitted; for heading "(C) Imports under TIR", the heading "(C) Formalities applied for handling of Import cargo at Customs office of Destination", shall be substituted and thereafter clause (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) shall be omitted; in heading (C), amended as aforesaid, clause (vi) shall be re-numbered as (i) and thereafter, for the expression "if the Customs office of destination and entry (en route) are the same for the TIR Carnet", the expression

"at the Customs office of destination", shall be substituted; in heading (C), amended as aforesaid, clause (vii) shall be omitted; in heading (C), amended as aforesaid, clause (viii) shall be re-numbered as (ii) and thereafter, the expression "at the inland Customs office of destination," shall be omitted and thereafter clause (ix), (x), (xi), (xii) and (xiii) shall be re-numbered as (iii), (iv), (v), (vi) and (vii) respectively; after heading (C), amended as aforesaid, the following new heading shall be added, namely:- "(D) Formalities applied for transit cargo where TIR transport of goods initiates in the territory of Pakistan,- in case where TIR operation is to initiate from the territory of Pakistan i.e. ports, when goods are in transit, the office entry (en route) shall become the office of departure; TIR Carnet holder shall make electronic pre- declaration (EPD) via TIR-EPD; the TIR Carnet holder shall produce the vehicle or container together with the TIR Carnet and documents, prescribed in rule 694, at the Customs office of departure; the Customs TIR processing officer in Pakistan shall scrutinize the TIR Carnet to check its validity date and the stamp and signature of TIR Carnet issuing authority. He shall also check the vehicle approval certificate, invoice, packing list, photographs of cargo if required, and weighment slip. He may also scan the barcode on the TIR Carnet to verify its authenticity though Real- Time Safe TIR (RTS); the goods shall be subjected to weighment and examination;

vehicle or container shall also be inspected to lc° r ensure it is secured and has no secret compartment; thereafter, the Customs TIR processing officer shall seal the load compartment or container and enter the sealing information in the Pakistan Customs Container Security System (PCCSS); voucher 1 of the TIR Carnet shall be detached and retained by the Customs office of departure and the TIR Carnet shall be handed over to the driver to start journey; and after verification of approved vehicle data by the Customs Computerized System, and gate-out of cargo from the terminal the "release for transit" message shall be generated by the system which shall also be transmitted to the IRU computerized data base."; and (10) in rule 715,- in clause (d), the word "and" shall be omitted and thereafter, in clause (e) for the full stop at the end, the expression "; and" shall be substituted; and after clause (e), amended as aforesaid, the following new clause shall be added, namely:- "a) declaration regarding possession of currency at the time of entry/exit.". fFile No.1(22)T&BT/2015-Pt] (Shakir Muhirrrmatd) Secretary (Transit & Border Trade)