The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has voiced support for the Faceless Customs Assessment (FCA) system, which aims to reduce human interaction and increase the use of technology.
Acting FPCCI President Saquib Fayyaz Magoon said the business community welcomed the initiative but warned of operational delays creating concern for trade and industry. He called for a dedicated consultative process to address issues.
Chief Collector Customs Appraisement South, Wajid Ali, visited FPCCI House Karachi for an interactive session with traders and industrialists. He said the prime minister had directed the department to reduce dwell time to 12 hours through technology and facilitation. Customs, he added, was working to meet this target.
In a show of cooperation, Ali announced that FPCCI would be given representation in all committees dealing with customs matters. He said efforts were underway to cut human contact, making customs more efficient, transparent and business-friendly.
Magoon stressed that dwell time in Pakistan is almost double that of regional competitors, far higher than international best practices. This, he said, causes traders heavy losses from demurrages, detention charges, storage costs and blocked capital. He urged faster clearance through the green channel and activation of the complaints resolution cell for timely redressal.
Abdul Mohamin Khan, VP and Regional Chairman Sindh FPCCI, noted that the complaints cell had become inactive, leaving genuine cases unresolved and pushing up costs for importers in terms of unnecessary demurrages and detention charges.
FPCCI Vice President Asif Sakhi praised the FCA system, saying it ensures efficiency and revenue collection by assigning import declarations randomly to officers in a central unit, keeping both parties anonymous.
VP Aman Paracha said FPCCI's recommendations reflected the feedback of more than 290 chambers, associations and trade bodies. He offered FPCCI as a platform for nationwide improvements in customs processes
Arshad Jamal, Convener of FPCCI's Economic Services Operations Committee, stressed that FPCCI supports only genuine, lawful complaints and its proposals should carry due weight.
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