KARACHI: Pakistan Customs has initiated cross-checking of import trends regarding goods which are imported in Pakistan as well as these same goods are also imported by Afghanistan through transit trade.
Customs has been plugging loop holes in the system such as streamlining the customs values of importable goods as per international prevailing prices, strict check is being kept on TP replacement and under-invoicing and mis-declaration.
After all these measures, it needs to be checked whether goods are being smuggled into Pakistan from Afghanistan. Therefore, Customs is scrutinizing the data to identify import trends by both Pakistan and Afghanistan through transit trade.
Customs is identifying the goods whose imports declined in Pakistan compared with previous years and import of these similar goods increased in Afghanistan.
For instance, Pakistan’s import of iron and steel, electrical machinery and equipment, fertilizers, inorganic chemicals and cotton have declined significantly ranging 30-50 percent during July 2016, while import of these very goods by Afghanistan through Transit Trade has surged significantly.
Meanwhile, import trends of various goods into Pakistan also witnessed change. Import of stranded wire, cable of aluminum surged significantly. Lifting Machinery import surged by 63 percent in July 2016 as compared to July 2015, textile machinery import surged 45 percent, import of tea surged 7.0 percent and import of paper surged by 17 percent.
On the contrary, import of motor cars declined 4.0 percent in July 2016 as compared to July 2015, import of synthetic staple fiber declined 125 percent, import of palm oil/fractions declined 4.0 percent, and import of paperboard and products also declined among others.