The FBR faceless customs assessment system is a digital function and is not tied to any particular port, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR, Pakistan’s federal tax authority) has clarified. Relocating the Central Appraising Unit (CAU) to Islamabad, it said, is the next phase of customs modernisation and is not meant to be reversed.
The board’s stated aim is to cut discretionary power, limit face-to-face contact between taxpayers and officials, and keep assessment decisions transparent and system-driven. Under the plan, only the assessment function shifts to Islamabad. Other work stays with the collectorate that has jurisdiction over the trader or shipment.
What stays in Karachi
Physical examination and day-to-day port operations will continue at Karachi. Traders can still approach their Karachi collectorates when problems arise. That split—central digital assessment, local port handling—is how FBR frames the reform as independent of where cargo physically lands.
FBR also stressed that customs valuation remains governed by Section 25 of the Customs Act, 1969. Digital assessment, it said, does not let officers raise declared values arbitrarily. They must use prescribed valuation methods and record reasons where the law requires it. Electronic files, specialist consultation and digital coordination are meant to raise assessment quality while reducing personal interfaces.
Clearance times and trade concerns
The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) had raised worries about clearance delays, valuation disputes and laboratory referrals. FBR replied that the performance figures in that representation largely reflect the early months of the rollout and do not fully capture later gains.
According to FBR, average customs clearance time has fallen from 40.2 hours to 20.57 hours, and 83% of consignments are now cleared within 48 hours. The board said it will fix genuine operational bottlenecks without weakening the core goals of the FBR faceless customs assessment system.
How the customs assessment process is meant to run next
To speed clearance further, FBR plans dedicated backlog clearance for Export Facilitation Scheme (EFS) and export-oriented shipments, plus green-channel facilitation for Authorised Economic Operators and compliant importers. Proposed service timelines include 24 hours for assessment and first review, 48 hours for second review, 24 hours for examination after grounding, and 72 hours for laboratory results, with automatic escalation. Provisional release under Section 81 of the Customs Act, 1969, will be used where the law allows.
FBR urged trade bodies to teach members to file Goods Declarations before vessels arrive. Advance filing and pre-arrival processing can let eligible consignments be assessed and cleared earlier, cutting port dwell time and demurrage. It invited APTMA and other bodies to send specific, verifiable cases with Goods Declaration numbers so delays, valuation disputes and classification errors can be checked.
The reform sits inside a wider digital push that also includes the Digital Invoicing System and AI-based Digital Production Monitoring, meant to tighten transaction records, improve visibility of industrial output and tax data, and curb evasion and unfair preferential treatment. FBR said operational problems will be tackled with targeted fixes while Faceless Customs Assessment itself remains in place.
Aasan alfaaz mein
FBR ne kaha hai ke faceless customs assessment ab digital system se hoga, kisi ek port se bandha hua nahi. Assessment ka kaam Islamabad shift ho raha hai, lekin Karachi ports par physical check aur operations jaari rahenge. Clearance time FBR ke mutabiq kam hua hai, aur valuation ab bhi qanoon ke mutabiq honi chahiye. Traders ko Goods Declaration waqt se pehle file karne ki salah di gayi hai taake rukawat aur demurrage kam ho.
