November 12, 2022 (MLN): At Port Qasim, around 2,860 containers are stuck due to import policy orders, misdeclarations, and letters of credit (LCs), while others have been struck due to import bans.
To recall, the Ministry of Commerce vide SO 598(1)/2022 on May’22 banned the import of certain nonessential items, including vehicles, mobile phones, home appliances, prepared food stuff, furniture, cosmetics, foot wear etc. and are covered under more than 850 Tariff lines of Pakistan Customs Tariff.
On August’22, most of the consignments that were imported against the import policy order have been released on payment of a surcharge.
Furthermore, many other consignments have been delayed because of SBP's policies that require commercial banks to seek permission from the foreign exchange operations department of SBP before initiating transactions.
In addition to above, some other containers are also held-up due to non-fulfilment of various IPO conditions and contraventions/mis-declaration.
Moreover, a number of containers are lying at Port Qasim because of reasons other than Customs, such as court matters and the SBP's delayed issuance of financial instruments.
