24hour baggage clearance at Karachi Airport to be introduced

[Abbas Ali]

Sunday, 07 January 2007

KARACHI, Jan 7 (APP): The Customs department is paying consideration to introduce 24-hour baggage clearance at Karachi Airport. According to Customs Preventive Collectorate sources here at present Immediate Clearanace Baggage (ICB) Unit is carrying out round the clock clearance of limited items like perishable goods, life saving drugs, gold, diplomatic consignments etc.

Now this system will be available soon for round the clock clearance of goods at the Air Freight Unit (AFU).

The sources said that introduction of this system will do away with the load of work on one hand and a big facility would be available to people on the other.

It would also result in reduced cost of doing business while godown charges will eliminate, if goods are got cleared overnight, the sources said.

The Preventive Collectorate is also introducing automation at the airport which, at present, is in vogue at Model Custom Collectorate. This system would minimise contact between tax payers and collectors, reduce malpractices and discretion.

The customs sources said that work on this scheme is going on at a fast pace.

Earlier, the people used to file declaration manually and now this is being done electronically. The goods declaration can now be filed online and the people would need not to visit AFU any more thus saving their time besides having minimum contact.

Another achievement being made by the Preventive Collectorate is that now on the airlines would deliver the missing baggage at the owner’s residence.

Earlier, the owners of missing baggage used to run from pillar to post to get back the same.

Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

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