Pakistan Single Window has recently commenced customs clearance for commercial imports across the country, including transshipment to and from dry ports upon the submission of the Single Declaration.
With the new development, goods and commodities clearance of commercial consignments classified under Chapters 1 to 50 of the Pakistan Customs Tariff has been switched to Pakistan Single Window from WeBOC at different dry ports located in different cities, except the dry port of Quetta.
There are 14 dry ports that cater to high-value external trade in Pakistan operating in Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Sust etc.
As the leading public sector entity responsible for the digital transformation of cross-border trade and the notified operator of the Pakistan Single Window (PSW) system, this development is a significant milestone in improving the ease of doing business through the streamlining and digitalization of clearance processes.
The CEO of Pakistan Single Window Syed Aftab Haider commented on the initiative, saying “The extension of PSW’s digitalization initiative to up-country dry ports is the latest in our steady effort to enable an increasingly seamless clearance process and improve trade facilitation in the country. As partners of the traders’ community, we believe that availing this new hassle-free, cost-effective, and harmonized system will expedite trade processes significantly.”
He assured traders that the services of PSW at dry ports are easy to leverage and encourage reaching out to PSW via designated channels for information and ready assistance.
PSW views the dry ports as intricate partner networks that include terminal operators, trucking and logistics companies, clearing agents, freight forwarders etc. and fully supports the modernization of the customs and regulatory processes implemented at the dry ports.
Pakistan Single Window is an initiative led by Pakistan Customs, aimed at reducing the time and cost of doing business by digitalizing Pakistan’s cross-border trade and eliminating paper-based manual processes.
The institution is working towards providing an integrated electronic platform that allows parties involved in international trade and transport to lodge standardized information and documents with a single-entry point to fulfill all import, export, and transit regulatory requirements.
Source: Pro Pakistani