FBR proposes CCF draft rules 2025 to regulate enforcement expenditures

May 28, 2025 (MLN): The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has proposed draft rules, to be called the Customs Command Fund (CCF) Rules, 2025, for regulating expenditure from the CCF established at the office of the Chief Collector of Customs (Enforcement) and the Collectorates of Customs Enforcement.

These rules shall come into force at once and are being published for the information of all persons likely to be affected, as per the notification issued by FBR.

Notice is hereby given that objections or suggestions may be submitted within three days of their publication in the official Gazette.

Any objection or suggestion received within this period shall be taken into consideration by the FBR.

Each Collectorate shall have a CCF Committee comprising the Collector (Chairman), Additional Collector (Member), Assistant/Deputy Collector (Headquarters) (Member), and a nominee of officers/officials of BPS-16 (Member).

The rules define the types of expenditure authorized from the CCF.

These include upfront payments to informers for information critical to anti-smuggling operations, capped at Rs500,000 per case.

They also cover logistic charges exceeding the annual allocated budget, and hard area supplies such as rations, utilities, and safety gear for customs staff.

Additionally, special rewards may be given to officers and officials who show extraordinary efforts inthe  seizure, investigation, and prosecution of smuggling cases, with a maximum reward of two years’ basic salary.

The financial disbursement from the CCF shall be capped as follows: 20% for information gathering, 20% for special rewards, 25% for hard area supplies, and 35% for logistic charges.

The Central Customs Command Fund Committee (CCCF) may authorize re-appropriation in emergency cases by up to 10%

To maintain the integrity and confidentiality of informer-related information, the rules specify that a distinct informer code shall be allocated, and the seizure report shall state the informer code.

Payments to informers shall be certified by the concerned officer and maintained separately from other expenditures.

The CCCF shall be headed by the Chief Collector of Customs (Enforcement) and include the Collector (HQs), one Collector Enforcement, and two officers of Customs of BS-18 and above nominated by the Chief Collector.

Disbursements to Enforcement Collectorates shall be based on auction sale proceeds, sanctioned strength, and strategic importance, with provisions for additional fund requests.

All disbursements must be supported by documentary evidence signed by the Special Disbursing Officer (SDO), and monthly expense statements must be submitted by the 5th of each month.

The CCF shall not be used for salaries, wages, overtime, or the construction/acquisition of buildings, though the repair of existing structures is allowed.

The CCCF Committee may issue further guidelines, and any misuse of funds will make the head of formation and the SDO accountable.

The Chief Collector of Customs (Enforcement) shall conduct an annual review of the CCF and may seek suggestions for its improvement.

The Office of the Auditor General of Pakistan will audit the CCF annually.

While all expenditures are subject to audit, the identity of informers shall remain confidential.

Copies of the audit report shall be endorsed to the CCCF Committee, and corrective measures must be ensured by the Chief Collector.

Any grievances related to the implementation of these rules shall be addressed through the procedure provided under the Customs Reward Rules, 2012, applied mutatis mutandis.

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