ISLAMABAD, Oct 21: The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has decided to establish a reference value database for maintaining uniformity in assessment of imported goods at all customs stations.

A senior official told Dawn on Thursday that for this purpose the CBR has been negotiating purchase of computer system with international firms.

With the installation of the central database centre, the officer said, it would not only help in providing uniformity in assessment of goods but would also help to a great extent in reducing the chances of under-invoicing and tax frauds causing harm to local industries.

The CBR has already compiled the reference value in two volumes, which would be fed in the computer system and would be made available for reference at all customs collectorates across the country.

The decision of establishing database system was taken following the need for comprehensive compilation of reference value database.

Such a value reference guide could be very useful tool for the assessing officers and it would also help in maintaining uniformity of assessment at all customs stations, the official added.

It was observed that the occasional discrepancy in valuation of identical goods cleared from north and south cities of Pakistan was another area of concern for traders.

According to them, there have been instances where identical goods cleared from Karachi were assessed at a value different than at Lahore.

Elaborating further, the official said that the minimum value in the computer system would not be binding for assessment purposes but it would be used as guidance in assessing the imported goods.