An important meeting with Asian Development Bank (ADB) officials was held in Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) HQs to review the progress made on “FBR Reform Engagement with ADB” and the issues and challenges being confronted for effective implementation.
FBR Team was led by Chairman, FBR, Dr. Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed and ADB Team was headed by Mr. John Hurley, United States’ Alternate Executive Director who was accompanied by Country Director Mr. Yong Ye, Principal Energy Specialist Mr. Asad Aleem, Executive Director Mr. Noor Ahmed, Senior Project Officer Financial Sector Ms. Sana Masood, Senior Project Officer Infrastructure Mr. Khurram Ghafoor and Senior Economist Ms. Farzana Noshab.
Member (Customs Operations) Syed Muhammad Tariq Huda, Member (IR Operations) Mr. Qaiser Iqbal, Member (Reforms) Ms. Ambreen Iftikhar, Chief FATE/Director (Media) Muhammad Asad Tahir and Project Director (PRR) Mr. Nadeem Basheer were also present in the meeting.
At the very outset, the progress on Integrated Transit Trade Management System (ITTMS) was shared with the ADB delegation in the meeting.
Giving specific details about Customs trade facilitation at Border Crossing Points (BCPs), FBR Team informed that facilitation of Multi-agency administration and round the clock operationalization and establishment of well-equipped import & export Custom Control Zones (CCZs) at Border Crossing Points have been ensured.
Regarding Customs Trade Harmonization at BCPs, it was briefed in the meeting that the least possible human interface between entry and exit points has been ensured for an enhanced trade facilitation.
Moreover, WeBOC has been integrated with Pakistan Single Window (PSW) for real time data sharing with the concerned stakeholders.
The Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is also being shared with regional economies and trading partners. Speedy electronic verification of documents, clearance, weighing and scanning has expedited cross-border cargo movement under WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) for reducing Cost of Doing Business.
During the meeting, the progress on Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool (TADAT) was also shared with ADB Team.
