Amendment in Customs Rules (SRO. 450(I)/2001 dated 18.06.2006)

Government of Pakistan

(Revenue Division)

Central Board of Revenue

Islamabad, the 31st March, 2007.

NOTIFICATION

(CUSTOMS)

SRO 286 (I)/2007.- In exercise of powers conferred by section 219 of the

Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969), the Central Board of Revenue is pleased to direct that

the following further amendments shall be made in the Customs Rules,2001,namely:-

In the aforesaid Rules, for chapter XIV the following shall be substituted,

namely:-

“CHAPTER XIV

TRANSSHIPMENT

1. Definitions.- In these rules, unless there is any thing repugnant in the subject or context,-

(a) “Act” means the Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969);

(b) “authorised representative of the carrier” means person(s) duly authorised by the carrier for submission of

documents to the Customs and for carrying out all functions relating to transshipment of goods;

(c) “carrier” means the Pakistan Railways, National Logistic Cell (NLC), Sambrial Dry Port Trust, Faisalabad

Dry Port Trust, Multan Dry Port Trust or such other carrier as the Central Board of Revenue may approve

from time to time and are duly licensed under Chapter VIII of Customs Rules,2001;

(d) “Control requirements” means feeding of data into the CCSU computer system and its acceptance by the

system, or alternatively the filling and signing of the paper based documentation for the sealing;

(e) “conveyance and transport unit” means conveyance, vehicles and transport units used by the carrier for the

transshipment of goods from port to another customs port or stations;

(f) “Customs Container Security Unit (CCSU)” means the unit based in Custom House Karachi controlling the

container sealing operations throughout Pakistan;

(g) “Focal Point” means the location of the CCSU field unit for operating the application and removal of seals;

(h) “focal point (Entry)” means the focal point where the goods arrive are sealed and seal is affixed for transit or

transshipment to the upcountry dryport or customs station for checking and removal of seals at the focal point

(exit);

(i) “focal point (Exit)” means the focal point at destination where the seal is

examined and checked for irregularities and removed;

(j) “heavy or bulky goods” means any heavy or bulky object which because of its weight, size or nature is not

normally carried in a closed vehicle or closed container;

(k) “port” includes a customs-port and customs stations as defined in section 2 of the Act;

(l) “prescribed time limit” means the time limit prescribed for the journey on the prescribed route;

(m) “prescribed transport route” means the route prescribed for the transit/transshipment of goods;

(n) “scanner” means the containerised cargo scanner located at ports for import/export cargo;

(o) “transshipment” means the transfer of transshipment goods without payment of customs duties and taxes at

port to carrier for carriage to another customs port or stations;

(p) “transshipment goods” means goods brought into Pakistan which are to be transported from port to other

customs ports or stations;

(q) “transshipment permit” means the authorization granted by Customs (Import Section), for transshipment of

goods;and

(r) “transshipment manifest” means manifest to be prepared by the carrier in the prescribed form for submission

to Customs Import Section, and to the appropriate officer of Customs at the customs ports or stations of

destination.

1. Specifications of transport units.- (1) All transport units and conveyance used by the carrier for carrying

transhipment goods shall be properly secured, riveted, locked and sealed.

(2) The transport units and conveyance used by the carrier shall be so constructed and equipped as to provide for the customs

seals to be conveniently and effectively affixed thereon and containing no concealed space where any goods could be hidden.

(3) The vehicle, truck and trailer units shall have a permanently installed/fixed tracking device capable of showing the

location of the said vehicle or trailer at any given time as well as a track of it route and stoppages etc. as and when required by the

CCSU. The tracking device is not mandatory for the prime movers or tractors of articulated trailers or trailers.

(4) The transport units shall be free from all manufacturing defects so that no goods can be removed from or introduced into

the sealed portion of the transport units without leaving visible traces of tampering or breaking of the Customs seal.

(5) All places,holds or provisions in the transport units capable of holding any goods should be readily accessible for

Customs inspection.

(6) The transport units (trailer but not prime mover) owned or leased by the carrier shall be indelibly painted on all four sides

with their colour and clearly indicating name of the carrier as well as Customs CCSU UAN phone number to report accidents or

information

(7) The trailers or articulated trailers shall be individually registered with the vehicle registration authority

1. Conditions for qualifying as a bonded carrier and its operations.- (1) Transshipment shall only be

allowed if the bonded carrier possesses a fleet of minimum twenty five registered vehicles in his name or company or are leased by

them. The bonded Carrier will be allowed to use only such vehicles/trailer units which have a permanently installed/fixed tracking

device of a reputable company. The Customs staff shall verify the satisfactory working of the tracker and the identity of the vehicle

used by the bonded carrier for transshipment of consignments, as well as the road worthiness of the vehicle/trailer/prime mover and

registration number and other particulars of the vehicles.

(2) Bonded carrier licence shall be issued by the Collector of Customs (Appraisement), Karachi, for a period of one year on

the recommendation of constituted team of Collectors comprising Collector of Customs (Appraisement, Preventive and Port Qasim),

after completion of formalities under the Customs Rules, 2001. The licence may be revoked at any time by the licensing authority

(3) Registration of the carrier under the Companies Ordinance, 1984 (XLVII of 1984), and with Chamber of Commerce and

Industry, and Transporters’ Association.

(4) The applicants shall possess National Tax Number under the provisions of the Income Tax Ordinance,2001(XLIX of

2001).

(5) The permission granted for bonded transportation would be non-transferable and shall not be allowed to be used by any

sub-contractor.

(6) The applicants shall deposit a bank guarantee or Defence Saving Certificates etc., or a mix of such securities for five

million rupees with the concerned Collector of Customs to safeguard Govt revenue. The Collector of Customs, if not satisfied with this

condition, alone may subscribe the system of revolving insurance guarantee keeping in view the huge amount of duty and taxes

involved in transportation of bonded cargo to up-country dry ports. The amount of bank guarantee or Defence Saving Certificates shall

be forfeited apart from other consequential penal action under the Act, and the rules made thereunder, if the bonded carriers misuse

the facilities of the transhipment of the imported goods.

(7) The registered vehicles of one bonded carrier shall not be allowed to be operated by an other bonded carrier for the

transhipment of cargo to upcountry Dry Ports.

(8) All the Bonded Carrier Permit holders be required to obtain and posses Customs clearing and forwarding license.

1. Responsibilities of the Carriers.- (1) Prior to submission of application (Appendix-I) for transshipment, the

carrier shall satisfy himself that the actual description, quantity, quality and weight of the goods under transhipment are as per

declaration in the IGM of the vessel. In case any misdeclaration or substitution is found at subsequent stage, the carrier shall be held

responsible under sections 32 and 121 of the Act.

(2) The carrier shall be responsible and bound to carry the goods to its destination without any delay and with utmost haste.

The carrier shall also be bound to deliver the bonded cargo to its destination within the prescribed time-limit, using the transport route,

as may be prescribed by the Board, from time to time.

(3) The delay in delivery from the stipulated time or deviation from the route will require a written explanation from the

carrier to customs authorities and may entail revocation of license and an administrative fine as may be prescribed by the Board, in

addition to other action under the Act.

(4) The carrier, except Pakistan Railways and National Logistics Cell, shall submit to the Assistant Collector (Imports

Section) a revolving insurance guarantee in the prescribed form (Appendix-II) from an insurance company of repute covering all

types of risks detrimental to the Government revenue involved in the transshipped goods along with general undertaking in the

prescribed from (Appendix-III) binding themselves to transship the goods safely and securely as per this procedure. The insurance

guarantee shall be issued by an insurance company having paid up capital of not less than one hundred million rupees and duly

registered with the Controller of Insurance, Ministry of Commerce.

(5) The carrier, except Pakistan Railways and National Logistics Cell, shall submit a list of transport units owned or leased

along with a copy of lease agreement for transhipment purposes to the Assistant Collector (Import Section). This list shall indicate

registration number, engine and chassis number, make, model, tare or weight and be accompanied with photographs of each vehicle

showing both sides, front, rear as well as chassis number. In case of leased vehicles the period of lease of the vehicle with address and

national identity card number of the lessor. The lessor as well as the lessee will provide an affidavit that the said vehicle is owned by

the lessor and not leased to any other person or carrier or bonded carrier.

(6) The Assistant Collector (Imports Section) shall issue permit (Appendix IV) for transport units which shall be treated as

consolidated registration with Customs House. This permit shall always be available with the driver of the conveyance while taking

delivery and transporting the transhipment goods.

(7) The carrier shall be responsible for transporting the transshipment/transit goods through the routes and within the time

limits specified by the Board from time to time. In case some route is closed or cannot be used for any reason, the bonded carrier shall

make an application to Assistant Collector (Imports) for permission to use the alternate route mentioning the alternate route to be used

and the time to be consumed by using the alternate route.

(8) In case of any accident enroute which may cause delay in the delivery of goods beyond the specified time, the nature of

accident, exact time and place of accident alongwith complete detail of the carrier shall be communicated to the CCSU telephonically

or to the nearest Customs or Sales Tax Collectorate or station.

1. Receipt and processing of Transshipment documents.—(1) The carrier shall apply to the Assistant Collector

for issuance of “Transshipment Permit” in the form as per Appendix-I.

(2) The application shall be filed in the Customer Service Centre (CSC), or if system is not computerised in the concerned

Collectorate then in import section.

(3) If particulars declared in transhipment application and the particulars declared in the Import General Manifest are

coincided, the computer shall automatically generate a Transshipment Permit in quintuplicate. In case the application is to be processed

manually then the same principle of coincidence would be applied manually before issuing the Transhipment Permit.

(4) If the particulars of the transshipment application and the particulars of the consignment in Customs record do not

coincide, the representative of the bonded carrier will make an amendment application in the prescribed form to the person incharge

who on payment of the prescribed fee, shall allow the required amendment in the application.

(5) Transshipment of imported cargo (including unaccompanied baggage) to the up-country ports shall invariably be allowed

in line with the provisions of section 121 of the Act through bill of lading. Transshipment may be allowed on the application filed by

the authorized representative of the approved carrier, if the address of the party to be notified is of an up-country destination or the

marks and numbers on the Bill of Lading indicate an up-country destination irrespective of the place of issue of import licence or of

opening of letter of credit subject to the satisfaction of the Collector.

(6) The original copy of the permit shall be furnished to Assistant Collector (Import), at the port of disembarkation, the

duplicate shall be retained by the Transshipment Section at the port of embarkation. Triplicate, quadruplicate and quintuplicate copies

shall be handed over to the representative of the carrier. Triplicate copy shall be retained by the customs staff at the time of clearance of

the conveyance from the port of embarkation, quadruplicate and quintuplicate copies shall be handed over to the bonded carrier for

accompanying the conveyance. The quadruplicate copy shall be produced to Assistant Collector (Imports) at port of disembarkation,

the quintuplicate copy will be retained by the bonded carrier for record.

(7) No application covering more than one consignment (destined for different customs ports or stations) shall be

entertained.

1. Goods be transshipped in containers.- In order to facilitate the Bonded Carriers for transportation of loose

transshipment cargo to up-country Dry Ports, the following procedure shall be observed, namely:-

(a) The Bonded Carriers are authorised to use the empty sea containers of internationally accepted standardized

dimensions and carrying valid original container numbers, taken from and with consent of respective shipping

lines, to the effect that the containers so used should be on lease basis at least for a period of one hundred and

eighty days for the carriage of loose transhipment cargo to up-country Dry Ports subject to the following

conditions namely:-

(i) the carrier shall obtain prior permission with container number from the Import Section for use of the

empty container(s) in order to avoid manifestation of one container in different places;

(ii) at the time of stuffing or sealing of loose transhipment cargo, verification of marks and number, and

number of packages as per declaration in the Transshipment Permit shall be ensured by means of

inspection by the examining officer that the container is found to be empty and also recording date and

time of dispatch of container and endorsement to this effect shall be made on the Transshipment Permit.

	Description of vehicles	Fittings	Findings
	(1)	(2)	(3)

Information

(b) In case of availability of any or all of the aforesaid fittings, the examiner shall score out the “No” and tick (/) the

“Yes” sign against such fitting. If any of the fitting is not available, he shall score out the “Yes” and tick (/) the

“No” sign;

(c) After permission for transshipment is granted and the vehicle actually leaves the port, the Superintendent

(Imports) shall send one copy of the Transhipment Permit along with other documents through registered post to

the respective dry port;and

(d) The representative of the Bonded Carrier will bring the transshipment documents to Customer Services Centre or

the Import Section attached with a service coupon.

1. Goods not permitted for transhipment.- The following goods shall not be allowed transshipment to up-country

customs port or stations, namely:-

(a) spirits, as defined in Chapter 22 of the First Schedule to Act;

(b) dangerous drugs, as defined in the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930 (II of 1930);

(c) narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances in terms of Headings No.12.07, 13.02, 29.04, 29.22, 29.23, 29.25, to

29.27, 29.35 and 29.42 of the First Schedule to the Act;

(d) explosive, as defined in the Explosives Act, 1884 (IV of 1884); and

(e) arms and ammunition and parts thereof, as defined in the Arms Act, 1878 (XI of 1878).

1. Fixation of seal by Customs Container Security Unit staff or authorized person.- (1) All transport units

carrying transshipment goods shall be allowed clearance from the area of delivery on sealing by Customs Container Security Unit staff

or authorised person as per the procedure prescribed by the Board for Sealing of Containers except in case of over-dimension cargo,

notified heavy cargo and goods to be transshipped by Pakistan Railways as allowed by the Assistant Collector in charge.

(2) The container and vehicle shall be sealed with prescribed security and unbreakable seals with progressive serial number

by the CCSU or authorised person at the focal points (entry), on first come, first served basis.

(3) In addition to the above mentioned sealing, a wire seal will be used to hold together the locking bolts of the containers

and numbered adhesive tapes will be used on joints where doors of containers close on top and bottoms of the doors and on the hinges.

(4) The open containers and flat bed trailers shall be covered with tarpaulin in sound condition and a cable passed through

the eyelet’s so as to secure the goods to the satisfaction of the Customs staff and seal shall then be applied to the ends.

(5) On focal points where the computerized sealing system of CCSU is not yet in place the CCSU staff or authorised person

shall issue a sealing certificate in quadruplicate (Appendix-VI) upon sealing each container, ( in the presence of designated examining

officer if required), in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Board.

(6) The original copies shall be retained by the person authorized for sealing, the duplicate shall be collected by the

concerned examining officer after physical verification that the seal with progressive serial number has been fixed and all entries have

been made in the certificate of sealing, the triplicate and quadruplicate copies shall be carried by the driver of the conveyance to the

Customs Port or Stations of destination.

(7) Upon safe arrival at the destination, the CCSU shall inspect the seal at the focal point (exit) in the presence of driver of

the vehicle, prime mover or representative of railways to verify the security of the cargo and intact condition of the customs seal and

other seals if applicable

(8) In case the CCSU or authorised person finds the seal broken or tampered with, or finds the security of the

cargo/container compromised in any way detrimental to the revenue, or safety or anti narcotics or anti terrorism concerns, the matter

shall be reported to the Incharge CCSU as per procedure prescribed by the Board as well as the concerned Assistant Collector of

destination for necessary action. Such container shall be de stuffed/ re stuffed only in the presence of authorised officer of Customs of

the concerned customs station.

(9) In case the vehicle, trailer, prime mover or railway wagon or train meets with an accident or breakdown that has caused

or may cause the security and safety of the bonded goods to be compromised, the driver of the vehicle/representative of the carrier will

immediately inform the CCSU for necessary action as per the procedure prescribed by the Board.

(i) The carrier shall bear all expenses incurred on restuffing or repacking of bonded goods pilferaged or damaged.

(ii) the carrier shall approach the nearest officer incharge of Customs, Federal Excise and Sales Tax office for

witnessing the shifting of goods in another transport unit if necessitated. The carrier shall shift the transshipment

goods or container in the other transport unit in the presence of the officer authorised by the said office. The

officer incharge shall issue a certificate to this effect to be produced by the carrier at the dest