The Federal Board of Revenue has unveiled a new system of daily fines for importers and exporters delaying customs filings and cargo clearance, aiming to streamline port operations and enforce compliance from October 1.
The Federal Board of Revenue has set out a new system of daily fines for importers and exporters who delay customs filing or hold consignments at ports and warehouses beyond prescribed limits, with the changes due to take effect on October 1. The revised regime, issued through customs notification SRO 1346 of 2026, replaces the previous framework and introduces graded penalties under the Customs Act 1969.
According to the notification, importers who do not file a goods declaration for home consumption, warehousing or transhipment within 20 days of a shipment’s arrival will face a fine of Rs25,000 a day for the first five days, rising to Rs50,000 a day thereafter, up to a maximum of Rs1 million. Where declarations are filed before a vessel berths but goods are not cleared within five days of assessment and berthing despite duties and taxes having been paid, the penalty will start at Rs15,000 a day before increasing to Rs20,000 a day, again capped at Rs1 million.
If declarations are filed only after berthing and goods remain uncleared for more than five days, the fine will begin at Rs10,000 a day and then rise to Rs20,000 a day, subject to the same ceiling. Exporters will also face daily penalties if consignments are not loaded for export within 15 days of entering the port, with fines of Rs5,000 a day for the first five days and Rs15,000 a day after that, capped at Rs1 million.
The FBR says the penalties may be recovered through adjudication or voluntary deposit under existing rules. The move follows a case in which a private company was found to have delayed filing goods declarations to gain a temporary advantage, prompting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to order corrective action. The FBR has recently been tightening customs controls more broadly, including automated penalties for overstayed cargo and other measures aimed at reducing port congestion and speeding up clearance.
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