29/10/2019
FBR may get trade details of past five years from customs clearing agents…
KARACHI: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) may ask customs clearing agents to provide details of importers and goods declaration filed during past five years under anti-money laundering drive.
Sources in Pakistan Customs said that customs agents are required to maintain records of goods declaration of past five years.
Further the customs agents are working on behalf of traders so the agents are also required to maintain the record of traders/importers.
Customs sources said that foreign trade was major source of money laundering and recently the central bank of the country had issued framework for banks related to trade based money laundering and terror financing.
The sources said that the purpose of collecting past data was to determine the declaration made by importers and foreign exchange obtained from domestic banks for foreign payments.
They said that the customs agents were also responsible for true declaration.
Responsibilities of customs agents
A customs agents shall,-
(a) file customs declarations in the prescribed manner and procedure giving detailed description of each item as mentioned in the Customs Tariff;
(b) make himself available at the time of examination of the goods drawing representative sample, counting, weighing etc as and when required for any such purpose;
(c) be responsible for any or all other documents signed by him or his employee or on his behalf or on behalf of his client;
(d) provide complete information and documents as and when required after clearance of the consignments;
(e) pay the evaded amount of duties and taxes in case it is established that evasion has taken place because of his negligence, failure to perform his functions as prescribed under the law or because of connivance or willful act of its employee or permit holder;
(f) furnish an authorization from each of the company, firm or individual, as the case may be, by whom he is employed to act as their customs Agent;
(g) not represent a client before an officer of customs in any matter which the licensee dealt as an officer or employee of the customs or of the facts of which he gained knowledge while in Government service;
(h) not appear, act or plead in any proceedings under sections 179, 193, 194 A or 196 of the Act, for and on behalf of any person other than the person for whom it acted as licensee in relation to maters out of which the proceedings have arisen;
(i) where he knows that a client has not complied with the law or has made any error or omission in any document immediately bring the matter of such non-compliance, error or omission to the notice of the appropriate officer of Customs;
(j) exercise due diligence to ascertain the correctness of any information which he imparts to the custom department or to a client with reference to any customs business;
(k) not withhold information relating to any customs business from the customs or from a client who is entitled to such information;
(l) promptly pay to Government, when due, all sums received for payment of any duty, tax or other debt or obligation owing to the Government and promptly render account to its client regarding any money received from him for Government, or received from it in excess of Governmental, or the other charges properly payable in respect of the client in its customs business;
(m) not attempt to influence the conduct of any officer of customs in any matter pending before the custom house, custom station, port or airport by the use of force, intimidation, false accusation, duress thereof or by offering any special inducement or promise of advantage, any gift or favor or other thing of value;
(n) not procure or attempt to procure, directly or indirectly, information from the customs records or other Government sources of any kind to which access is not granted by proper authority;
(o) not employ in any capacity, with power of attorney, by delegation or otherwise.-
(i) any individual whose application for licence or customs permit has been refused;
(ii) any individual whose licence or permit has been revoked or whose conduct as a partner, manager, director, officer or employee has been the cause of the revocation of the licence or permit, for the promotion of or in connection with, the work relating to the licence;
(p) produce the actual importer or exporter whenever required and declare his computerized national identity card number, actual office address along with telephone number, tax number and e-mail address;
(q) inform promptly the customer about the objection raised by documents or declaration required under the law and bring the matter to the notice of appropriate officer of customs in writing immediately; and
(r) report immediately to the customs about suspected financial transactions like money laundering or proceeds of crime by its client.