Forex disclosure by inbound travellers brings rupee under stress

Amid the declining rupee value, the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) expressed their ignorance about the declaration of foreign currency by international passengers on arrival in Pakistan on the orders of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) that further brought local currency under stress. At a meeting on Wednesday, the Senate Standing Committee on Finance was told that the CAA issued the orders on Aug 16 for the requirement of the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) ahead of an onsite visit of a delegation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and Asia Pacific Group (APG) on Money Laundering. The delegation completed its visit on Sept 2. The CAA order required all incoming international flights to ensure that all passengers disclose their foreign currency possessions through a pro forma and that airlines submit all these declarations to the CAA. Testifying before the committee, State Bank of Pakistan Deputy Governor Dr Inayat Hussain said this was one of the reasons for recent pressure on the rupee.