Customs Committee Declares FCA System a Failure, Urges Immediate Suspension

• A Pakistan Customs committee has declared the Faceless Customs Assessment system a failure and recommended its suspension.
• The system was part of the Federal Board of Revenue’s digital transformation agenda aimed at improving cargo clearance.
• The committee’s review found that FCA failed to eliminate collusion and improve transparency, disrupting operational efficiency.
• FCA was intended to reduce corruption by removing direct contact between importers and officers but has shown little impact on revenue.
• The committee criticized FCA’s core concepts, such as concealing trader information and dismantling specialized assessment groups.
• Specialized assessment groups are seen as beneficial for building expertise and speeding up processing.
• The committee recommended no further implementation of FCA without a radical overhaul and reassessment.
• A forensic audit was suggested to investigate potential hidden revenue losses in high-risk sectors.
• The committee’s findings challenge the credibility of FCA, urging a rethink of Customs strategy and accountability.

Source: pkrevenue.com

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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