Pakistan’s FBR allows cross-stuffing of goods

Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has given the go-ahead for the cross-stuffing of goods from one container to another container or any other mode of transportation under the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) and TIR Convention.

The amendment to Pakistan’s customs rules, on Monday, was aimed at allowing for the smooth movement of transit cargo, Dawn Media reported.

The cross-stuffing of containerised cargo under APTTA will be allowed both inside seaport terminals where cargo arrives and at any approved off-dock terminals at separately demarcated areas.

Cross stuffing is broadly defined as the loading of cargo in empty containers and sealing them, sometimes in the presence of customs, with the containers being transported to the carriers thereafter.

The APTTA is a bilateral trade agreement signed in 2010 by Pakistan and Afghanistan that calls for greater facilitation in the movement of goods between the two countries.

The agreement allows for both countries to use each other’s airports, railways, roads, and ports for transit trade along designated transit corridors. The agreement does not cover road transport vehicles from any third country, be it from India or any Central Asia country.