ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s prime minister on Tuesday ordered a nationwide audit of customs bonded warehouses as it separately prepares a new scheme allowing Gulf producers to store foreign-owned petroleum products in the country for domestic sale or re-export.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered an independent third-party audit covering three years of operations at bonded warehouses across the country, along with physical verification of stocks, according to a statement from his office.
Bonded warehouses allow imported goods to be stored without immediately paying customs duties and taxes, which generally become payable when products are released into the domestic market. The government said bonded trade currently accounts for 16.5 percent of Pakistan’s total imports.
The scrutiny comes as Islamabad seeks to expand the role of bonded storage in its energy sector through a proposed commercial oil-storage scheme involving Gulf producers and global commodity traders, aimed at strengthening fuel security while developing Pakistan as a regional storage and distribution hub.
“There is no room for any irregularity in customs bonded warehouses,” Sharif said, according to a statement issued by his office, directing authorities to take strict action in accordance with the law against officials involved in any irregularities or illegal activities.
The government did not identify any specific wrongdoing or say whether the audit had been ordered in response to suspected losses or violations at bonded warehouses.
Officials told the meeting that physical verification of stocks would be carried out at customs bonded warehouses nationwide, while valuation testing would also be conducted and information technology systems reviewed.
Measures were also being taken to strengthen licensing and security requirements and eliminate irregularities in the bonded warehouse system, according to the briefing.
Officials said monitoring of petroleum-related cargo held in customs warehouses was linked to WeBOC, Pakistan Customs’ computerized system for processing and monitoring trade and customs transactions.
The government is separately seeking approval for a new bonded oil storage framework under which foreign producers and commodity traders would be able to bring petroleum products into Pakistan, retain ownership while they are stored and subsequently sell them domestically or re-export them.
