PESHAWAR: Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry senior vice-president Ziaul Haq Sarhadi has demanded of the Federal Board of Revenue to review its recent decision to centralise goods declarations (GDs) from Karachi as the move has caused delay in goods clearance, troubling the business community.

In a press statement issued here, he said businessmen, especially those operating through upcountry dry ports such as Peshawar, were facing difficulties due to the new system of GDs processing.

“Under the current system, all GDs were routed to the Central Assessment Unit (CAU) in Karachi even if they were filed at local dry ports,” explained Mr Sarhadi, who is also the president of Frontier Customs Clearing Agents Association.

“This centralisation has resulted in delays in goods clearance, as local agents cannot directly communicate with the assessing officers in Karachi in case queries or objections are raised,” he added.

“Additionally, the response time has been increased, which is causing extra costs in the form of demurrage, detention, and storage charges,” he continued.

Mr Sarhadi also mentioned the findings of a report by the Directorate General of Customs Risk Management documenting sharp rise in customs processing times under the Faceless Assessment System (FCA).

“For GDs that were assessed but not physically examined, the average dwell time surged by 57 per cent, climbing from 25 hours per GD in July 2024 to 46 hours by April 2025,” he quoted the report as saying.

“These issues place an unfair burden on regional businesses and discourage the use of dry ports, which were established to make trade easier for remote areas,” Mr Sarhadi observed.

“In light of these challenges, PAJCCI requests FBR for decentralisation of FCA regime by setting up regional assessment units at major dry ports such as Peshawar, Quetta, and Multan,” he demanded.

“These units should be empowered to conduct assessments digitally, while following the same rules and transparency standards as the central system,” he said.

“Additionally, we suggest improving the WeBOC platform to allow clearing agents to respond to objections, submit clarifications and upload documents in real-time, with a fixed response timeline from customs officers,” he further demanded.

“This will help avoid long delays and also align with the government’s broader goals of promoting ease of doing business and inclusive economic growth across all provinces.”

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2025