NBR orders importers to submit monthly records to customs

In a bid to prevent irregularities, importers are now required to submit their purchase and sales records to the respective customs house every month, aligning with VAT practices.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) issued a statutory regulatory order (SRO) in this regard on 22 December, which was made public on Wednesday.

Experts anticipate that this move will reduce opportunities for concealing imported goods and machinery through unauthorised sales channels.

A senior NBR official told The Business Standard, "The new order aligns with the VAT department's directive, ensuring that importer companies maintain accurate accounts.

"This will reduce issues such as under-reporting sales or not keeping records, and will create compliance among businesses."

However, concerns have been raised by businesses regarding the potential impact of regularly submitting records to the customs house, mirroring VAT procedures. Some argue that this could lead to increased harassment and additional costs for businesses.

"Maybe a few businesses are doing irregularities. But for them, now all businesses will be harassed. If we have to submit invoices or other records to the customs house regularly, like VAT, it will cost money and harassment will increase," Syed Nasir, managing director of Xclusive Can Limited, told TBS.

He added, "We are already submitting account statements to the VAT department every month. Customs could integrate with VAT systems to obtain the necessary information. Why are they compelling us to submit the same records separately to the Custom House?"

In response to potential challenges, the NBR order includes a provision stating that if electronic information is unavailable due to natural disasters or logical reasons, the customs commissioner retains the authority to take necessary actions for assessing imported goods.