December 4, 2002	Wednesday	Ramazan 28,1423

ISLAMABAD, Dec 3: The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has introduced first ever Pakistan Goods Declaration (PGD) system at Port Muhammad Bin Qasim for speedy clearance of cargo.

This system included single document, which would replace five different documents like bill of entry, shipping bill, transshipment permit, baggage declaration and safe transportation permit, a senior Customs official in the CBR told Dawn on Tuesday.

The PGD was effective from December 2, 2002 at the port as a pilot project, which would be extended to other customs stations, said the official.

CBR has introduced the PGD with the assistance of United Nations Centre for Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Elaborating the new system, the official said that the new document was handy and computer-friendly and its introduction has widely been appreciated by the clearing agents and trade bodies.

He said that the PGD system would bring a revolutionary change in the customs working by ensuring quick processing of documents and expeditious clearance of cargo.

It would result in greater shipment at the port as it was user-friendly, which would result into generation of more revenue, said the official.

Official figures made available to Dawn showed that the Collectorate of Port Qasim has collected Rs17.398 billion during the first five months (July-Nov) of 2002-03 against Rs12.295 billion the same period last year, an increase of 42 per cent.

Further break up showed that it collected Rs6.825 billion under the head of customs duty against Rs5.077 billion, showing an increase of 34 per cent.

Under the sales tax head it collected Rs9.480 billion against Rs6.437 billion over the same period last year, an increase of 47 per cent.

And the collection of advance income tax on imported goods has also registered an increase of 49 per cent.

The official said that in the coming months the revenue generation at the port would register a record growth of 50 per cent.