The Federal Board of Revenue Friday told the Collectors of Customs that no restriction has been imposed on the export of gold jewellery and exporters should fulfil all export obligations required under SRO 760(I)/2003. In this regard, the FBR has issued instructions to the Model Customs Collectorates (MCCs) here on Friday. Referring to the directive of the Ministry of Commerce, the FBR has informed the field formations that the import and export of gold, gold jewellery and gemstones be regulated on the basis of Commerce Ministrys instructions. The Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet in its meeting held on January 20, 2014, decided that all imports of gold under SRO 760(I)/2013 shall be suspended with immediate effect for a period of 30 days. Furthermore, import under Sr. No 16 of Part-II of Annex-B of Import Policy Order, 2013 shall also be suspended for the same period. Thus, import of gold is suspended with immediate effect for 30 days both under SRO 760 and Import Policy Order, 2013. Relevant SROs will be amended immediately after formal receipt of the ECC decision/directive in this regard, Commerce Ministry said. The FBR is requested to issue instructions to their field collectorates accordingly, it said. Commerce Ministry added that the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) is also directed not to issue any import authorisation during the period. There would, however, be no restriction on export of gold jewellery. In fact, TDAP is further advised to strictly monitor export obligations and ensure that all exporters must fulfil their export obligations as required vide Sr. No 11 of the SRO 760(I)/2003, instructions added. The ECC of the Cabinet had imposed ban on the import of gold for one month both under SRO 760 and its commercial imports under Import Policy Order, 2013. The issue of gold smuggling and consequent pressure on open forex market were agitated by the Foreign Exchange Companies in recent meetings with the Finance Minister in Karachi and a follow-up meeting at Islamabad. The matter was accordingly placed before the ECC for consideration.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 05:32:09 +0000