State Bank makes amendments in forex regulations on imports

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has made amendments to the foreign exchange regulations related to imports, including transition from electronic import from the Pakistan Single Window, a statement said on Monday.

The central bank said considering the market dynamics and keeping pace with the changing business environment, the State Bank is in the process of revising the foreign exchange regulations, in consultation with the relevant stakeholders in a phased manner.

The primary objective of these revisions is to promote ease of doing business by simplifying the existing instructions, removing the redundancies and delegating more powers to the authorised dealers for facilitation of the stakeholders.

The central bank has notified revisions in the foreign exchange regulations for imports of goods into Pakistan (Chapter 13 of the FE Manual).

The key changes included amendment in the existing regulations to facilitate import transactions through the forthcoming Pakistan Single Window facilities; thereby, eliminating the requirement of the Electronic Import Form.

Besides, the banks have been delegated more powers to approve the import transactions, which earlier required regulation.

The State Bank of Pakistan and the Pakistan Customs had implemented the Electronic Import Form Module in the WeBOC system from September 1, 2016.

The form is an electronic declaration by importers approved by their bank, detailing the payment information for import of goods. It is required before filing of goods declaration to the Pakistan Customs for clearance of imported goods.

However, once the Pakistan Single Window becomes operational, the requirement for the Electronic Import Form will be eliminated.

The Pakistan Single Window system is a facility that allows parties involved in trade and transport to lodge standardised information and documents with a single-entry point to fulfil all import, export, and transit-related regulatory requirements.

The system would help reduce the time and the cost of doing business by making trade-related business processes more efficient, transparent and consistent.