Pakistan has issued new classification codes (HS-2022) for the accurate classification/assessment of imported commodities in line with the World Customs Organization (WCO) standards.
This move by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will facilitate importers in specifying the details of imported goods as per the WCO regime.
The FBR has issued the new transposition table of the PCT codes of the Pakistan Customs Tariff (PCT). A comparison of the Harmonized System — HS-2017 and HS-2022 — has been specified for the accurate classification of imported goods.
The customs Schedules need to be frequently updated under the WCO system to reflect changes in the tariff classification in the Harmonized System which periodically undergoes amendments. This ‘transposition’ of the goods Schedules is required to compare members’ obligations with the tariffs that are actually applied by a national customs administration.
The analysis of the 2017 and 2022 tables revealed that in most cases, HS-2017’s and HS-2022’s PCT codes are the same but the changes, modifications, and additions have been mentioned in HS-2022’s new transposition table.
The new transposition table enables the FBR to have specified PCT-Code, WCO bound rates, reference, description, customs duty, unit of measurement, type of change and remarks, etc.
As per the new transposition table, the FBR has specified the existing PCT codes, any new PCT headings, and changes in the description under HS-2022.
The FBR has correlated the 2017 and 2022 editions of the Harmonized System as drawn up by the World Customs Organization’s Secretariat in accordance with instructions from the Harmonized System Committee. This has been done for the sole purpose of facilitating the implementation of the 2022 edition of the Harmonized System.
A tax expert explained that the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS Convention) was enforced on 1 January 1988.
The objectives of the HS Convention are to:
i. facilitate international trade and the collection, comparison, and analysis of statistics by harmonizing the description, classification, and coding of goods in international trade;
ii. reduce the expenses related to international trade;
iii. facilitate the standardization of trade documentation and the transmission of data.
iv. The customs administrations are obliged to ensure that their customs tariffs and statistical nomenclatures for both imports and exports are in conformity with the Harmonized System. They should also make their import and export trade statistics publicly available in conformity with the six-digit codes of the Harmonized System or beyond that level based on their initiative.
v. The use of the HS spread quickly after its implementation and there are now more than 200 economies and Customs or Economic Unions currently using the System as a basis for their national customs tariffs. However, its use is not confined to customs tariffs and it is used for many other purposes.
Source: Pro Pakistan