The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Tuesday withdrew a “widely misinterpreted” notification it issued proposing luggage restrictions on passengers arriving at Pakistan’s airports.
Last week, the revenue body issued SRO 2028(I)/2024 of draft amendments to Baggage Rules, 2006 and sought opinions from stakeholders within a seven-day period, which ends on Dec 13.
The FBR had proposed amendments to the definition of “commercial quantity” in rule 2 to restrict the number and worth of items incoming passengers could bring into the country.
Commercial quantity was defined as goods brought “for trading or pecuniary [monetary]” purposes and not personal use.
As per the draft amendments, the value of “commercial quantity” would be capped at $1,200.
If the draft amendments were approved, goods worth more than $1,200 would be considered “commercial quantity” and confiscated.
Similarly, the draft amendment proposed allowing passengers to bring only one mobile phone, in addition to the one already in their personal use, from abroad. It suggested that any other mobile phones in their baggage be confiscated.
Another amendment proposed changes to the process of handling confiscated items.
Earlier, commercial quantity goods seized by authorities were released after the payment of duties or fines. A document available on FBR’s website stated that commercial quantity goods would be released after the payment of a fine equal to 30 per cent of the value of goods in addition to duties and taxes.
In the draft amendment, the FBR had suggested a change to rule 17, which read: “The goods brought in commercial quantity shall not be released on payment of duty, taxes and redemption fine.”
However, in a press release issued today, the FBR said its notification had “created a wrong impression that the value of personal baggage has been fixed up to $1,200 and this confusion has been circulating in the press and other media in the country”.
It clarified that the term “commercial quantity” was elaborated to fix a value of $1,200 for goods brought in baggage prima facie for trading or pecuniary gain, adding that the purpose of the draft amendment was to curb the misuse of the baggage facility by commercial carriers.
“However, as explicitly mentioned in the notification the limit of $1,200 does not include the items for ‘personal use or gift’ by a passenger. Therefore, it is clarified that the limit of $1,200 mentioned in the draft notification does not apply to items of personal use and bona fide baggage items. The impression that customs shall confiscate personal baggage valuing more than $1,200 is strongly rebutted,” the FBR said.
It concluded that since its draft notification had been “widely misinterpreted” in public, particularly on social media, it was thus withdrawing the amendments to avoid the spread of further confusion.
