ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has granted a waiver of penal surcharge on overstayed consignments in warehouses to facilitate importers.

A customs notification SRO616 issued on Monday said the concessions will not apply to those goods which have since been abandoned or auctioned under the rules.

It is estimated that approximately the penal surcharges on overstayed goods are around Rs600m.

According to the notification, the waiver is extended until July 31, 2020 so that importers can clear their overstayed goods from warehouses.

The outbreak of Covid-19 has also resulted into clearing problems for the importers to clear the bonded goods within the statutory time limit. The warehousing period is six months under the Customs Act. The overstaying consignments attract penal surcharge on clearance at 1pc per month on duty and taxes involved.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2020