PM Imran praises import, export single-window act

Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday that the Pakistan Single Window (PSW) Act, 2021 would pave the way for ease in imports and exports.

The premier added that the PSW will bring $500m in annual savings and reduce the cargo clearance time from days to hours, by integrating 75 regulatory departments.

"An indep[endent] authority will manage the PSW which will be pivotal in unlocking Pakistan’s potential to become a hub for international transit & trade," the premier said in a tweet.

Read Pakistan’s imports soar, exports drop in February

In February, it was reported that Pakistan has introduced a system for pre-arrival clearance of imported cargo coming through the air route to slash clearance time, facilitate trade and improve supply chain management with the objective of steering ease of doing business in the country.

Initially, the Customs department receives details of goods on board through electronic means immediately after the flight takes off from an international destination and the cargo receives clearance for delivery to importers by the time the flight lands in Pakistan. The new project launched by the Customs department is called “Clearance in Sky”.

The system delivers a message to the importers or recipients of the cargo that can be shown to the authorities for receiving the delivery of cargo and it can also be used to track the status of goods.

The system can tell the exact position of goods and the period of time after which they will be ready for physical delivery at airports.

During the trial and test run of the project in December 2020, goods such as lifesaving drugs, documents like passports, human organ consignments and perishable items including vegetables and fruits were cleared successfully.

“At present, we are clearing import cargo of 12 commercial importers, manufacturers and exporters in the textile and pharmaceutical sectors of Pakistan,” Additional Collector of Customs Farah Farooq, who is heading the pilot project, told The Express Tribune.