Annual currency caps set for those travelling abroad

ISLAMABAD:

To overcome the problem of falling foreign reserves, the federal government has set an annual limit of $30,000 for passengers over 18 and $15,000 for below that age to carry with them while travelling abroad, the only exception being Afghanistan for which the cap has been fixed at $6,000.

Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officials said the main objective of the amended rules was to limit the amount of US dollars that travellers could carry with them in a year.

They added that there had been no limit set on the number of dollars the passengers carried on each of their trips as long as it did not exceed the limit fixed.

The officials explained that earlier a person could travel abroad with a fixed amount of foreign currency on each of their trips but a confusion arose as there was no annual limit in place.

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In the notification of amendments to the Baggage Rules issued by the FBR, it was stated that people above the age of 18 would be allowed to carry $5,000 with them while traveling abroad and as many times as they wanted to leave the country in a year.

However, this amount had been capped at $30,000 in a year and they would not be able to take more dollars abroad.

Similarly, those under 18 years of age could take $2,500 with them if they visited abroad during a trip with their parents and relatives. In each trip, they could carry this amount in a year, but the annual limit had been capped at $15,000.

The notification read that the annual limit had been set at $6,000 for Afghanistan. Those travelling to Afghanistan, they would be allowed to take $1,000 per visit. Overall, they would not be able to take more than $6,000 with them to Afghanistan in a year.

The amended rules also stated that the above-mentioned limit for travellers going abroad would be applicable from the calendar year 2023.

Till the implementation of the new rules, travellers going abroad in the current calendar year could carry the existing dollar limit with them.

The existing limit will be applicable till December 31, 2022.

According to the new rules, passengers travelling abroad would have to submit a declaration form for the currency as well as prohibited items they were carrying with them.

Similarly, passengers coming to Pakistan with more than $10,000 in cash must submit a Customs declaration form for carrying the currency and as well as prohibited items with them.

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Despite official foreign currency reserves falling to a critically low level of $6.7 billion, the government has failed to stop the smuggling of the dollars to Afghanistan that was underway using orange crates and with the connivance of law enforcement agencies (LEAs), revealed the proceedings of a recent huddle chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

It also emerged during a meeting that the Customs Act was not in conformity with the new limits set for outbound currency flow, hampering the registration of criminal cases against the smugglers.