KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (Customs Wing) has notified Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) for sample testing of lubricating oil for strict compliance.
Accordingly, on filling of Goods Declaration (GD) pertaining to the imported lubricating oil by importer/clearing agent, the Customs authorities/importer/clearing agent will intimate the Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) for making necessary arrangements to undertake sampling of the lubricating oil at the Sea port/Dry Port.
The representatives of PSQCA in the presence of customs authorities and importer/clearing agent shall draw at least three representative samples of imported lubricating oil and handle these as per international standards i.e. Automatic Sampling of Petroleum and Petroleum Products “ASTM D-4057-2000” set by World Trade Organization.
This practice covers procedures and equipment for manually drawing samples of liquid petroleum and petroleum products, crude oils, and intermediate products from the sample point into the primary container.
Of the three drawn samples one sample to be retained by the concerned Collectorate (for at least six months for record), another sample to be handed over to the importer or his representative and remaining one to be sent for testing to Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority for confirmation of actual description.
The concerned / nominated lab is required to send the test reports of individual consignments at the earliest to all three agencies i.e. Customs, PSQCA and OGRA by mail/email.
On the strength of these conformity test reports, Customs shall release the consignments. The record of the test reports shall be maintained for five years by Customs, PSQCA and OGRA.
In case of quality dispute, the first set of sample retained by Customs Authority shall be tested for second report in the same or other approved laboratory (if agreed by Collector after recording the reasons) in presence of the importer or his representative to sign as witness of lab analysis.
All other authorized personnel shall also attend & witness lab analyses if required. The result of second report shall be treated as final. In the mean time the importer / owner who possess the third set of sample may choose to get this sample tested in an approved laboratory on their own for his satisfaction and technical support in case of any differences of opinion.
In case, the testing report has been against the declared description, the customs authorities would take action as per law/rules/policies/practices.
A case of mis-declaration can also be made by the customs authorities if deemed appropriate. PSQCA will maintain list of importers of lubricant oils, brands and grades of lubricating oil being imported besides country of origin.
Once the lab testing is approved for a specific brand & grade of oil and found compliant, PSQCA will issue Conformity Assessment Certificate which will be valid for next six months (starting from date of issuance).
In these six months, the shipments of same grade oil from same supplier and imported by same importer will not be stopped for conformity testing.
However, the Risk Management System of Pakistan Customs would select imported consignments for random testing as per international best practices.
Each brand/grade of lubricating oil will be required to be re-tested after six months to recheck its conformity assessment. The expenditure occurred during the drawing of the samples and testing will be borne by the importer.