KARACHI, June 2: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has launched a new auto clearance system ‘WeBOC’ at Port Qasim Collectorate for clearance of imports.

The system developed by Pakistan Revenue Automation Ltd (Pral) finally became operational after successful tests, customs sources disclosed on Thursday.

The FBR had been striving hard to develop indigenous software, which could meet the need for growing trade volume at both the ports of Karachi.

The current software PaCCS for auto-clearance of goods at Model Customs Collectorate belonging to the Kuwait-based company, Agility, has fairly met the needs of the board but not without controversies, the sources said.

However, presently both the systems are running parallel and if the WeBOC pilot project at PQA collectorates of imports and exports succeeded its operations may be expanded, official sources added.

The PaCCS system was launched as a pilot project for the clearance of containerised cargo at the Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT) and subsequently, it was extended to Pakistan International Container Terminal (PICT) and Qasim International Container Terminal (QICT).

However, the system throughout had been controversial either because of being misused by the customs staff assigned to run it or lack of proper agreement with the Agility.

Port Qasim collector Ms Rubina Wasti told Dawn that the FBR issued directive on May 3, for the trial run of WeBOC as a pilot project to work under ‘One Customs’.

She said the collectorate issued a standard procedure for registration of importers and their agents and to give them the users ID. She said that since the WeBOC began its function from May 14, around 168 Goods Declaration (GDs) had been filed and of these 67 have received gate passes and 91 are under process.

Ms Wasti said initially compressed scrap falling under PCT heading 7,204 was being cleared through the new system and hoped that import consignments and in-bond GDs will also be cleared through WeBOC system shortly.

Unlike PaCCS, the new system also keeps collectorate of Appraisement on loop and consignments would be given gate pass only after their approval.