The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued Tracking and Monitoring of Cargo Rules, 2023 to allow small companies obtain licenses for tracking and monitoring of vehicles and containers carrying transit cargo.
Presently, only one company is allowed to provide tracking facility to the transit cargo. Through an SRO.996(I)/2023 issued on Wednesday, the board has notified new Tracking and Monitoring of Cargo Rules, 2023.
Under the revised rules, the annual turnover has been reduced from Rs. 350 million to Rs. 175 million and financial health from Rs 200 million to Rs 100 million for the companies intended to apply for the licenses for tracking and monitoring of vehicles and containers carrying transit cargo.
The revised procedure shall apply to tracking and monitoring of the following types of cargo throughout the journey from the port of entry to the port of exit or from one warehouse to another, on real time basis.
The applicant shall be required to provide technological solutions on the basis of GSM or GPRS or satellite communication or any other modem technology for monitoring and tracking, on real time basis, of containers and vehicles carrying the cargo.
The applicant shall possess the specified qualifications to be considered for issuance of licence.
The system based solution offered by the applicant shall be able to perform the functions of monitoring capability on real-time basis of a minimum of three thousand containers or trucks from licencee’s control room; monitoring and tracking of vehicles and containers throughout the journey from Customs point of entry to Customs point of exit on real time basis.
No company shall carry out tracking and monitoring of cargo unless it has obtained a licence under these rules, it added.
The licencees shall furnish, establish and maintain a section relating to performance monitoring of the licenced tracking companies in the central monitoring and control room (CMCR) in the old Customs House, Karachi or in any other control room designated by the Board.
The licencee shall provide the necessary infrastructure for establishing mobile enforcement units (MEUs) including vehicles (4X4), adequate means of communications with the CMCR and licencees’ control room, respectively and routine maintenance activity (POL, repairs etc). The Project Director shall convey to the licencee, the requirements of the Directorates of Transit Trade (HQ), in which the MEUs will be stationed at Transit Monitoring and Response Centers (TMRCs) and will be located on shift rotation basis (twenty four hours and seven days a week), besides determining the total infrastructure required in terms of vehicles, and related resources. The MEUs will be manned with adequate customs staff and in such manner as may be decided by the Director, Transit Trade (HQ), it added.
Source: Pro Pakistani
