ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said that after functioning in Karachi, the anonymous customs system should be expanded and implemented in other cities as soon as possible so that all imports across the country can benefit from the system. The Prime Minister chaired a review meeting on matters relating to the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR). The meeting was attended by Minister for Economy Ahad Khan Cheema, Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Ali Pervez Malik and other senior officials, the PM Office Media Wing said in a press release. The Prime Minister noted that in the previous months, significant progress had been made in digitization and reforms within the FBR, where for the first time in history, an anonymous digitization system was introduced into the customs process, marking a major milestone in customs administration. digitization of FBR. The Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications and the FBR to work together to further improve the anonymous customs assessment system. He wanted the system to be converted to artificial intelligence by minimizing human intervention. He also managed the development of a comprehensive strategy for the implementation of the track and trace system in various industries. The meeting was briefed about the recent FBR reforms. The faceless customs system at all port terminals in Karachi will be fully operational by the end of February 2025. In addition, efforts were underway to quickly ensure its nationwide operation. A central dispatch center was established to monitor the anonymous customs system, which was further supplemented. It was announced at the meeting that body cameras and tablets will be used to make the control recording system more transparent. Mobile signal jammers and CCTV cameras have also been installed at all terminals to increase the transparency of the control system. A transparent recruitment process for the new customs system has been launched and at the same time a tracking and tracing system has been introduced in all industrial units of the tobacco, fertiliser, sugar and cement industries. The implementation of the monitoring and surveillance system has led to a significant increase in revenue from the tobacco, sugar, cement and fertilizer sectors in the fiscal year 2023-24 as compared to the previous corresponding year. Further improvement in income from these industries was expected with the full implementation of the tracking and tracing system this year, he added. The meeting was told that as per the Prime Minister’s directive, the modernization of the One Customs website has started and its design should be completed by the end of March.
