No passenger will be allowed to board a flight or leave the airport without submitting the currency declaration form
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Pakistan has made it mandatory for all incoming and outgoing passengers to fill out a currency declaration form, said an official statement on Tuesday, to meet yet another requirement of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The Pakistan government has made currency declaration mandatory for all international air travelers, amid efforts to meet another condition of Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
All incoming and outgoing passengers will be required to fill out a currency declaration form, according to a notification issued by the Civil Aviation Authority on Thursday (CAA). The move aims at curbing money laundering, a requirement of the global financial watchdog FATF.
Pakistan has been on FATF’s “grey list” of countries since 2018 due to its allegedly insufficient controls over money laundering and terrorism financing. The country has been implementing FATF recommendations over the last 4 years and recently moved closer to exiting the list by strengthening its financial system. The Paris-based international watchdog also praised Pakistani officials for making substantial progress while saying its team would soon carry out an onsite visit of the country.
A FATF team is expected to visit Pakistan next month to verify measures taken by the Pakistan government to curb money laundering and terror financing. A successful on-site visit is expected to pave the way for Islamabad getting out of the FATF grey list.
According to the notification, a declaration form would be available at the booking offices of the airlines. The passengers would be required to fill in details of domestic and foreign currency and hand over the forms to the airline staff.
No international passenger would be allowed to board a flight or leave the airport without submitting the declaration, it said. The notification added that the passengers would be required to submit the currency declaration form to the customs staff before checking in for the flight.
“For inbound flights, airlines are required to ensure in-flight announcement by the flight crew for every inbound flight for submission of subject declaration wherein the passengers will mention the currency under the regulatory requirement of FATF,” the notification informed.
“The said declaration will be deposited at the customs counter before the immigration desk at international arrival,” it added.
“At check-in counters, airlines are directed to issue boarding pass only once the passenger has deposited the declaration with them,” the notification added.
The latest currency declaration requirement was imposed by the CAA on the instructions of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).