| Customs Clearance / Introduction |
It is a common belief by the importers in Pakistan that custom clearance is very difficult,
time consuming and cumbersome procedure. As a result it has become a common
practice to engage a clearing agency in fulfilling the requirements and procedures of the
customs departments, as well as clearance of consignments. However a part of the
negative perception relates to the low awareness level about the compliance requirements
for import procedure. It can be divided into two major segments. First appraisal, where
the goods are physically verified and customs duty is assessed and second appraisal
where the actual or final duty is calculated and levied upon the importer.
This document covers all the necessary aspects, which is the fundamental part in
clearance of goods/shipment and the process of assessment of customs duty and taxes.
Shipments may be received at either the Sea, Air port or Dry port declared by the
customs authorities as customs ports, customs air port and land customs station; the procedure for clearance is same for every customs station. |
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| Arrival of the Goods at Customs Ports |
The Central Board of Revenue off and on declares the customs ports comprising of sea,
land and air ports for the purposes of clearance of goods. The customs clearance process
starts with the arrival of cargo ship, plane or other carrier of goods in the country on the
designated sea, land and air ports. Upon arrival of the goods at the customs port, the port
authorities issue the Import General Manifest (IGM) to each shipment. It is a number
indicating the serial of the shipment arrived during the year. Upon receipt of the IGM the
consignment is further indexed to allow for a systematic reference of all goods received.
After issuing this number, the shipment is off loaded and sent back to port warehouse. In
the case of land customs station i.e. dry port etc. the IGM is issued not at the time the
goods reach the land customs station but at the time the goods are off loaded at the sea or
air port.
Upon arrival of the off loaded goods, the clearance process starts. Normally at this point a
clearing agency is engaged by the importer to facilitate the process of customs clearance
and to reduce interface with the customs officials. Following documents are required and provided to the clearing agent for processing. |
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| Clearance Procedure for Imports Legal Services Cell |
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Invoice of shipment |
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Packing list |
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Bill of lading |
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Copy of the Letter of Credit or Contract |
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| If the importer is importing for the first time, following additional documents are to be submitted: |
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Copy of the Sales Tax Registration Certificate as an importer |
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Copy of Registration Certificate issued by the Export Promotion Bureau in case of import of Gems and Jewelry |
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Copy of the National Tax Number |
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Copy of the most recent sales tax return |
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It may be noted that now there is no need to obtain import and export licence from the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan.(TDAP). |
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