FBR extends anti-smuggling powers of customs officials to LEAs

Business Recorder reported that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has handed customs enforcement functions to several law enforcement bodies until June 30, 2027. The recipients are the Pakistan Rangers, the Frontier Corps units in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, the Pakistan Coast Guard and the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA). Four notifications issued on Tuesday, all under Section 6 of the Customs Act, 1969, set out the arrangements.

Rangers and Frontier Corps personnel can exercise these functions within 50 kilometres of international borders, excluding city municipal limits, customs areas, ports, airports and bonded warehouses. Coast Guard personnel face a similar 50-kilometre limit, measured from the coastline. Before the arrangement expires, the Chief Collector of Customs (Enforcement) must report to the Board on the Coast Guard's performance, and any extension depends on satisfactory results.

Officers of the PMSA have been told to act carefully so that lawful commerce, imports, exports and ordinary citizens are not hindered. The FBR has also replaced its July 2023 notifications with new orders that take effect immediately.