ISLAMABAD (September 08 2003) : The tax consultant Maxwell Stamps has asked the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) to compile a database for correct valuation of imported goods to control massive misdeclaration of consignments by the international gangs.
The proposed valuation programme has been devised for the custom officials to promptly conduct valuation of imported goods for accurate verification of declared value by the importer.
The consultant was of the view that 'having multi source database' is necessary to implement transaction value methods, and protect revenue by controlling and managing both local and international valuation risk.
In this regard, the selectivity module will be designed to select consignments item level, flagging the value of an item outside the acceptable range, which has the same or similar commercial description and is from the same country of origin.
The field valuation cell will have access to local as well as national transaction values to review the declared value of selected items against the reference value, values from other sources such as the Internet, and the value range approved by Customs valuation authority etc.
The valuation module will provide Customs information about transaction history from different sources such as the Customs clearance system, information subscribed from international value reference banks, and data manually entered from other authorised sources such as the Internet.
The system will allow users to enter an HS code and find values previously processed and/or stored by the Valuation authority.
It will also allow users to sort the presented data by country of origin, by commercial description, or by transaction period.
The system will provide a range of values (high and low) against each type of query.
The valuation module would review, analyse and determine value range of products based on generic commercial descriptions and HS codes.
It would advise on the manner in which the field Customs valuation cell will function as part of the clearance procedure located outside the customs clearance mainstream – the closed loop.
Determine both operational function (valuation at the point of importation) and the policy and post-entry verification functions for the maintenance and distribution of reference values across the country.
Facilitate trade, protect revenue from value fraud, and establish related measures to support the valuation methods (specifically, release of goods under guarantee/surety procedures etc.)
The valuation module will be utilised by Customs valuation officers at the import stage as an aid to verify the accuracy of declared values.
This will be achieved by comparison with prior shipments and other pricing information held in the system, the consultant added.
