Arrival of the Goods at Customs Ports
 

The Federal Board of Revenue off and on declares the customs ports comprising of sea, land and air ports for the purposes of clearance of goods. The customs clearance process starts with the arrival of cargo ship, plane or other carrier of goods in the country on the designated sea, land and air ports. Upon arrival of the goods at the customs port, the port authorities issue the Import General Manifest (IGM) to each shipment. It is a number indicating the serial of the shipment arrived during the year. Upon receipt of the IGM the consignment is further indexed to allow for a systematic reference of all goods received. After issuing this number, the shipment is off loaded and sent back to port warehouse. In the case of land customs station i.e. dry port etc. the IGM is issued not at the time the goods reach the land customs station but at the time the goods are off loaded at the sea or airport. Upon arrival of the off loaded goods, the clearance process starts. Normally at this point a clearing agency is engaged by the importer to facilitate the process of customs clearance and to reduce interface with the customs officials.