Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to transfer the powers of establishing and overseeing the matters of Land Port Authority to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) by taking money from the Ministry of Commerce. A source told this scribe that on one hand, the Ministry of Commerce had withdrawn itself from supervision of the matter regarding LPA, and on other hand, FBR demanded of the government to provide administrative control of LPA because the authority deals with the customs issues.

It is worth mentioning here that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif constituted a 13-member steering committee to look after the matters of Integrated Transit Trade Management System (ITTMS) in January 2014, headed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, with five federal ministers and seven secretaries of relevant departments, to suggest solution for the establishment of land ports. The Asian Development Bank has committed $204 million for ITTMS project, primarily through its own resources, or by including some other development partner.

This committee after the three meetings approved the establishment of the LPA on 18 February 2015 to oversee cross-border movement of goods and people. Under the plan, three dry ports will be set up at Torkham, Chaman and Wagha border points to facilitate trade. The LPA would oversee construction, management and maintenance of the integrated border crossing points and future extension. The LPA would act as a common platform for all regulatory agencies, including customs, immigration, terminal operator, security, quarantine, banks, shipping agencies, and freight forwarders.

A successful implementation of the project will make Pakistan the third country in South Asia to establish the NPA after Bangladesh and India, having dedicated land ports for handling goods and passenger traffics at the border. The establishment of land ports was part of the Strategic Trade Policy Framework (2012-15) announced in December 2012.

A source said that it was decided that the LPA would be established through an executive order and its legal status would be confirmed later through an Act of Parliament. The land acquisition for the LPA at Torkham on the basis of 99-year renewable lease was already being undertaken. The ITTMS project had been included in FBR’s PSDP for fiscal year 2014-15.