Talks on Cement Export to India Soon.

Lahore—Collector Customs Ali Sulman Abbassi on Wednesday said that a fresh round of talks with Indian Custom Authorities over the issue of cement export to India by trucks is going to be held in the mid of January this year and hopefully the issue would be resolved.

He was speaking at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry where LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh presented customs related proposals that could help give quantum jump to the country’s exports. The Chamber’s SVP Kashif Younis, VP Saeeda Nazar, former Presidents Iftikhar Ali Malik,Sheikh Mohammad Asif and Mian Anjum Nisar also spoke on the occasion.

The Collector Customs, while agreeing with LCCI proposal, said that sector-specific committees to check under-invoicing should be formed and both the Customs department and the Lahore Chamber needed to sit together to finalise its modalities so that the committees could be notified without any further delay. He said the Customs department was well aware of the fact after granting the MFN status to India, the volume of trade between the two sides would jump manifold and the Wagha would be the largest port in the country. Therefore, he added, the private sector should initiate consultation with the NLC that is presently handling all the infrastructure related issues at Wagha.

Regarding import-export data sharing, the Collector Customs said the department was ready to extend all-out support to the chambers of commerce in the country in the larger interests of the economy and arrangements would soon be made in this regard. On thisoccasion, the LCCI President said there was urgent need to check Under-invoicing in imports as it was severely hurting the local trade and industry.

He said, India was constructing a large warehouse facility spanning over an area of 120 acres near Wagha check post at Pakistani border. This warehouse would facilitate the Indian businessmen in their business with Pakistan, however, on Pakistani side, there were no matching facilities for Pakistani exporters, he pointed out. Moreover, presently there was no facility to handle shipments in liquid form, at Wagha border, which required immediate attention by the Customs Department.

Source : pakobserver.net