Massive discrepancies unearthed

Measures to curb smuggling and under-invoicing being discussed

Smuggling and under-invoicing totalling two billion dollars in imports from China have been discovered, prompting Pakistan to start an immediate investigation into the matter.

A copy of the Economic Coordination Committee’s meeting minutes made available to The Express Tribune revealed that the figures reported by Pakistan and China regarding trade between the two neighbours diverged by two billion dollars.

A senior officer of the Federal Board of Revenue said that the issue of under-invoicing and its possible solution through an electronic data exchange system was already being discussed with Chinese authorities. He added that steps had been taken to curb the smuggling of goods into the country.

He also explained that goods from China arrived in Gilgit-Baltistan through the land route via the Sust border where customary duties and taxes on imported goods were collected.

Sources disclosed that Pakistan had devised an anti-smuggling strategy along with a plan to link the customs department of both countries through an electronic system. Although the e-system was being considered by both sides, no concrete steps had been taken towards its implementation.

The proposed system would enable a comparison of the Goods Declaration (GD) filed in Pakistan by the importer with the GD filed by the Chinese exporter. The declared values would be verifiable through the electronic system.

It was also suggested that a reputed data-providing firm will be hired to get information on the prevailing prices of goods in the international markets to counter the problem of under-invoicing.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2010.