KARACHI, April 16: Customs clearing agents have complained that by adopting more than one system for clearance of cargo by different collectorates of customs, a lot of hardship is being faced and this was also incurring extra cost.

In a statement issued on Monday Faisal Mushtaq, general secretary of Karachi Customs Agents Association, stated the chief collector (South) should implement the recent decisions taken by the FBR chairman without further delay.

He said that the infrastructure work at the 12th floor of the Customs House had been completed but the shifting of Port Qasim assessment facility is still pending which was causing a lot of hardship for customs agents who have to travel long distance to Port Qasim to attend petty issues.

The purpose of opening customers service centre, he said was to reduce dwelling time of clearance and also bring down the cost. He, however, regretted that both the objectives were not achieved and on the contrary clearance time has increased due to multiple systems.

As a result of this, he said presently three clearing systems are being followed by customs authorities, including WeBoc, CFC and One Customs and has not only given impetus to corruption but also causing hardship to customs agents.

He urged the FBR chairman to implement WeBoc for clearance of cargo across the country which will give uniform valuation and assessment method.—Staff Reporter