Karachi, September 19, 2025 – Pakistan Customs has announced a major initiative to reduce the average cargo dwell time to just 12 hours, in line with the vision set by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Wajid Ali, Chief Collector Appraisement South, emphasized that the customs administration is actively working to achieve this ambitious target by leveraging technology, automation, and facilitation for the business community.
Speaking during his visit to the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Friday, Wajid Ali stated that reducing dwell time is critical for enhancing trade competitiveness and curbing unnecessary costs for importers and exporters. “Our objective is to align Pakistan’s clearance procedures with international best practices. Therefore, Customs is making every possible effort to shorten dwell time to 12 hours,” he added.
In a gesture of cooperation, he assured FPCCI that the department would accept the chamber’s nominations in all consultative committees to ensure that traders’ concerns are properly addressed. According to him, measures are already underway to limit unnecessary human contact by adopting digital processes, which will make operations more transparent, business-friendly, and efficient.
Saquib Fayyaz Magoon, Acting President FPCCI, expressed appreciation for the Faceless Customs Assessment (FCA) system, which aims to eliminate direct interactions between traders and officials. He, however, noted that certain operational inefficiencies are still causing delays. To address these issues, he called for a structured consultative mechanism where FPCCI could present the business community’s recommendations in detail.
Magoon further demanded that the use of green channel clearance should be expanded, complaints redressal mechanisms made more effective, and unnecessary procedural hurdles eliminated. He stressed that prolonged dwell times in Pakistan are significantly higher compared to regional competitors, causing businesses to incur heavy costs in the form of demurrages, detention fees, storage charges, and blocked working capital.
The FPCCI president emphasized that by streamlining Customs procedures and reducing dwell time, Pakistan can not only improve its ranking in global ease of doing business indices but also foster a more competitive trade environment for its exporters and importers.