KARACHI, July 2: A large number of containers loaded with industrial raw materials could not be cleared from port area as custom authorities have been designated with additional responsibility.

It must be noted that following the budget 2012-13, the powers of fixation of quota and its extension has been transferred to customs.

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) vice president Sheikh Shakil Ahmed Dingrah told Dawn that repeated requests for early clearance of industrial raw material failed to generate appropriate response.

“FPCCI was approached by importers and manufacturers, including a Lahore based group, for early certification of quota enhancement of raw material.

The issue was taken up with the concerned officers. However, it has not been resolved so far.

Furthermore, this problem has deprived the national exchequer of Rs20 million in customs duty in a single case,” he said.

The government introduced changes in the regulatory mechanism through an amendment in SRO 565 (1) / 2006 of June 5, 2006, wherein customs were given additional functions including the determina-tion of annual entitlement of raw material, extension in cases of non-consumption within a year and auditing of the record of importers.

Earlier these functions were handled by the collectors of sales tax and federal excise.