KARACHI: Foreign shipping lines handling 90 percent of Pakistan’s seaborne trade have warned of a “total disruption” of the country’s imports and exports, citing “ill-planned” tax requirements that their agents say Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is trying to enforce.
In a letter written to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif dated Sept. 19, the Pakistan Ship’s Agents Association (PSAA) said FBR officials were compelling non-resident ship owners to register themselves on the national tax collector’s portal, obtain national tax number (NTN), file tax returns and take exposure to the country’s “unpredictable” tax environment.
Calling the move as “ill-planned”, the PSAA warned of an “impending crisis” that is likely to affect Pakistan’s entire seaborne trade.
“By arbitrary one-sided actions, FBR is creating extreme hardships for foreign flag vessels upon which Pakistan’s trade is entirely dependent,” PSAA chairman Mohammed A. Rajpar said in the letter addressed to the prime minister.
“You are requested to direct the concerned authorities to restore the previous system… rather than resorting to strong arm tactics which tantamount to threatening total disruption to Pakistan’s imports and exports.”
