Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Monday issued rules for dissemination of data of Pakistan Single Window (PSW).
(more…)Tag: Pakistan Single Window
-
FBR notifies regulations for evidence of identity to accessing Pakistan Single Window
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Monday notified regulations for evidence of identity for accessing Pakistan Single Window (PSW).
(more…) -
FBR notifies rules for subscribing Pakistan Single Window system
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday notified rules for subscribing Pakistan Single Window (PSW) system for conducting cross-border trade.
(more…) -
Tampering PSW data to attract 4-year jail sentence
KARACHI: About four years jail term has been prescribed for tempering data of Pakistan Single Window (PSW).
According to Finance Act, 2022 certain amendments have been made to Customs Act, 1969 to prescribed fine and penalty for attempting to tamper or making unauthorized entry to the online data of PSW.
According to the Finance Act, 2022:
READ MORE: NA approves levy on petroleum products up to Rs50/liter
Offence: If any person makes or attempts to make unauthorized access to information, data or personal details of registered user of Pakistan Single Window system or systems connected or ancillary thereto;
Penalty: Imprisonment which may extend up to six months or with fine which may extend to one hundred thousand rupees or with both.
Offence: If any person makes or attempts to make unauthorized copy, transmission or cause to transmit any data, information or detail in relations to Pakistan Single Window system or systems connected or ancillary thereto;
READ MORE: All tax proposals of IT sector accepted: FBR
Penalty: Imprisonment which may extend upto six months or with fine which may extend to one hundred thousand rupees or with both.
Offence: If any person makes unauthorized interference, or attempt to interfere, damage or attempt to damage any part of whole of the Pakistan Single Window system or data or system connected to or ancillary thereto;
Penalty: Imprisonment which may extend to three years or fine which may extend to five hundred thousand rupees or with both.
Offence: If any person makes or attempts to make use of any information system, device or data to make any illegal claim or title or cause any person to part with property or to enter into any express or implied contract or intent to commit fraud by any input, alteration, deletion or suppression of data, resulting in unauthentic data with the intent that such data be considered or acted upon for legal purpose, as if it were authentic in relations to Pakistan Single Window system or Systems connected or ancillary thereto;
READ MORE: Pakistan’s salaried class unhappy over new tax changes
Penalty: Imprisonment which may extend to four years or fine which may extend to one million rupees or with both.
Offence: If any person uses, makes, supplies, retains, obtains device, system or software for offences under section 13 of the Pakistan Single Window Act, 2021 (III of 2021);
Penalty: Imprisonment which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to one hundred thousand rupees or with both.
Offence: If any person obtains, sells, process, uses or transmits another person’s Unique User Identifier or makes an attempt thereof without authorization;
Penalty: Imprisonment which may extend to four years and fine which may extend to one million rupees or with both.
READ MORE: Pakistan reduces salary tax slabs to 7 in budget 2022/23
Offence: If any person tampers with or attempts to tamper with, alters, reprogrammes any Pakistan Single Window system or system connected or ancillary thereto for unauthorized use;
Penalty: Imprisonment which may extend to four years and fine which may extend up to one million rupees or with both and any devices or systems used in offence shall be liable to confiscation.
Offence: If any person writes, offers, makes available, distributes or transmits a malicious code or abets in the same, with intent to cause harm to Pakistan Single Window system or data resulting in or intending to result in corruption, destruction, alteration, suppression, theft or loss to the Pakistan Single Window system or data, or any attempt thereof.
Penalty: Imprisonment for a term which may extend to four years and fine which may extend to five million rupees or with both.
-
FBR drafts ID evidence rules to subscribe Pakistan Single Window
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Monday issued draft rules for providing evidence of identity for subscription of Pakistan Single Window (PSW).
(more…) -
Trade Information Portal of Pakistan
The Trade Information Portal of Pakistan (TIPP) is the single-stop point for all information relating to import and export. The TIPP is hosted by the Pakistan Single Window Company on behalf of all the Government agencies involved in the import/export process. On this portal, traders will be able to get information about all the regulatory requirements they need to fulfill in order to carry out their transactions. These regulatory requirements may involve a number of government agencies.
A number of countries have introduced or are considering the introduction of a trade information portal as a means of facilitating trade and increasing transparency.
For World Trade Organization (WTO) members or countries in the process of acceding to the WTO, a Trade Information Portal (TIP) will assist in complying with new commitments currently being negotiated as part of the Doha Development Round.
READ MORE: KCCI holds awareness seminar on Pakistan Single Window
The negotiations aim to strengthen the provisions of Article X of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which currently requires that all regulatory trade related information “shall be published promptly in such a manner as to enable governments and traders to become acquainted with them”.
In many developing nations, government agency specific websites may not exist and even when they do they are often incomplete, out of date, or the content may not cover the entire spectrum of information that a trader may wish to obtain to ensure compliance with import, export, or transit requirements. It is therefore desirable to create a single platform where all the information relating to trade from all the various agencies is aggregated under one roof and is readily available for searching and viewing. However, despite much effort and, in some cases, inter-governmental agreements, many countries still lack an effective and sustainable Trade Information Portal. Many fail to take the user’s viewpoint and do not provide practical step-by-step guides, nor answer key questions relevant to traders. Some have limited or outdated content and are difficult to use and navigate. Often established in developing countries as part of a project funded by international development partners, their quality will often slip after the project ends.
READ MORE: PSW to link 27 banks for trade facilitation
What is TIPP? The Trade Information Portal of Pakistan (TIPP) is a website that displays latest and complete regulatory information related to imports, exports and transit trade for any item/HS code as well as useful statistical data for international trade.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is an excellent opportunity for TIPP to demonstrate its usefulness to traders in providing timely information on quickly changing rules and procedures, in particular those relating to the trade of emergency goods. Trade Information Portals deliver a range of benefits. It enhances transparency and access to a wide array of information, which can be pivotal in making decisions related to trade and investments. Under Article X of General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT) Commitment to Transparency Pakistan had to establish Trade Information Portal. Later on under Article 1.2 of WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) Pakistan had committed to implement the TIPP by 31 March 2022.
Each piece of information made available in TIPP has been collected and validated from the 77 Other Government Agencies (OGAs) as listed in Schedule-I of PSW Act 2021. The regulatory content has been digitized and connected with Pakistan Customs Tariff (HS Codes) creating thousands of linkages to Legal Documents (all relevant laws, rules, regulations and orders etc), Procedures, Measures, Commodities, Forms, Fee Schedules, etc. As such the OGAs, Economic Operators, investors and academia can freely access useful information on a single click.
READ MORE: PSW to reduce trade cost, time, and complications: Tarin
Background of TIP in Pakistan: Attempts made in the past to develop a trade information portal in Pakistan did not yield result. Since PSW as part of its system, development effort had already done bulk of the work for TIPP under its Integrated Tariff Management System (ITMS) hence it was decided to help the government in meeting its international commitment. With support from USAID, international experts were hired in April 2021 and the TIP related tool kit was obtained from World Bank free of cost. Since then all the 77 OGAs as well as stakeholders from private sector have been engaged by a dedicated team of PSW to undertake the task of content collection, validation and uploading.
TIPP Maintenance Mechanism: Pakistan Single Window Company (PSWC) has placed a robust governance model for the maintenance, management, and support of TIPP. This TIPP Management Team (TMT) housed in PSW HQs is charged with maintaining and updating the portal, liaising with OGAs, and informing and advising Governing Council of PSWC on the management of TIPP. Collaboration among all stakeholders is being ensured through the principles and commitments set out in the MoU to be signed before launch in March, 2022.
READ MORE: Biometric verification for PSW inaugurated at KCAA
Additional Features beyond Fulfillment of TFA commitment: TIPP has been designed from the perspective of traders, Overseas Pakistanis, and potential investors who will get the latest and authentic information. TIPP will also provide latest trade statistics, trade agreements and offer list available to Pakistani exporters in international markets for preferential market access. TIPP will enable them to make informed decisions while undertaking cross-border trade transactions without needing middlemen. Furthermore, TIPP offers guided journeys for visitors through its user-friendly interface available in both English and Urdu in order to attract maximum number of visitors and investors.
The PSW has engaged all public and private sector stakeholders since the inception of the TIPP project. Multiple awareness/engagement webinars and seminars have been arranged during the project life cycle. Two national level workshops have been held in Karachi and Islamabad. As part of its outreach plan the TIPP Project team is undertaking an extensive road show to visit all leading Chambers of Commerce and Trade bodies across the country before formal launch of TIPP. It is hoped that these steps will enhance trade facilitation in the country.
(Brief contributed by Umair Mehmood Siddiqui, Deputy Director (Pakistan Single Window), Federal Board of Revenue. The article is extracted from half year 2021/2022 report of the FBR.)
-
KCCI holds awareness seminar on Pakistan Single Window
The Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) organized an awareness session on Pakistan Single Window (PSW).
The seminar was aimed to raise technical awareness about the overall operations of this important facility and provide an opportunity to the participants of the session to better understand the system, highlight issues and get adequate response along with first-hand information from the relevant officers of Pakistan Customs.
READ MORE: PSW to link 27 banks for trade facilitation
The session, which was steered by Chief Domain Officer/ Additional Collector Customs Naveed Abbas Memon and simultaneously conducted through online zoom facility, was attended by President KCCI Muhammad Idrees, Senior Vice President Abdul Rehman Naqi, Vice President Qazi Zahid Hussain, Chairman Customs & Valuations Subcommittee Muhammad Arif Lakhani, Former Senior Vice President Muhammad Ibrahim Kasumbi, Former Vice President Nasir Mehmood, KCCI Managing Committee and General Body Members in addition to immense participation of more than 250 people from all over the country including Sialkot, Lahore, Islamabad and Faisalabad who joined the meeting via zoom facility.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Domain Officer Naveed Abbas Memon stated that Pakistan Single Window portal has been designed to fully facilitate traders by reducing time, cost and complexity in cross border trade in addition to improving the quality of experience for all stakeholders with primary focus on ease of doing business. He said that it also supports other government departments in adopting an Integrated Risk Management (IRM) approach for efficient enforcement of trade related controls.
READ MORE: PSW to reduce trade cost, time, and complications: Tarin
Earlier, while welcoming the participants of awareness session, President KCCI Muhammad Idrees appreciated the PSW initiative introduced by the government which would certainly help in minimizing human interaction and reduce chances of harassment and corruption. However, he stressed that the need to promptly rectify numerous glitches in the system and simplify procedures in order to achieve the prime objective of PSW facility which was to ensure ease of doing business.
He said that it was heartening to see that PSW promotes ease of doing business by maintaining collaboration with 74 different public sector entities involved in regulation of cross border trade of Pakistan and digitalizing the processes related to importers, exporters, customs house agents, freight forwarders, shipping companies and transporters etc. but there was a room for further improving the system so that it could be brought at par with international standards.
He was of the view that fully functional and totally flawless operations of PSW would also enable Pakistan to achieve compliance with WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement besides helping Pakistan to unlock its potential in becoming a hub for trade.
READ MORE: Biometric verification for PSW inaugurated at KCAA
He mentioned that Karachi Chamber has the honor of being the first Chamber of the country to NADRA e-Sahulat at KCCI premises where members of the business and industrial community were being provided biometric verification facility required for registration in the PSW portal. “PSW or any other IT-enabled service to be introduced in future must be devised in such a manner that these facilitate business community rather than becoming a source for exploitation”, he stressed, adding that FBR must work in close coordination with KCCI to make PSW and other such future initiatives successful.
While appreciating the support and cooperation extended by Pakistan Customs, particularly the seriousness being exhibited towards ensuring ease of doing business, President KCCI opined that the success of PSW initiative would not only prove beneficial for businesses but also for the economy.
Many participants of the meeting expressed deep concerns over some non-functional tabs in PSW portal and also the delays in biometric verification for registration which was causing demurrage detention losses. In response, on the spot instructions were issued to resolve several glitches so that the business community could use this portal without any problem.
-
Pakistan Single Window to reduce time, cost, complexity
KARACHI: Naveed Abbas Memon, Chief Domain officer of Pakistan Single Window (PSW) has said that PSW portal will enable traders to reduce time, cost, and complexity in cross-border trade.
While addressing an awareness seminar at Karachi Customs Agents Association (KCAA) on Monday he said it will also improve the quality of experience for all stakeholders with a primary focus on ease of doing business.
The officer said PSW will also support other government agencies in adopting an Integrated Risk Management approach for efficient enforcement of trade-related controls.
He also informed that the implementation of PSW will enable Pakistan to achieve compliance with WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement besides helping our country to unlock its potential in becoming a hub for trade.
President KCAA Saif Ullah Khan said that it is an honor to host the PSW representatives of the highest level who are leading a mega transformation through PSW based on the approach of trade facilitation.
He further said that PSW will promote ease of doing business by maintaining collaboration with 74 different public sector entities involved in the regulation of cross-border trade of Pakistan.
While addressing, the General Secretary Mr. Arshad Khurshid appreciated the implementation of true automation under the PSW portal, he stated that Pakistan Customs initiated the implementation of automation in business through risk management systems by launching the Pakistan Customs Computerized System (PACCS) in the year 2005 which was greatly appreciated by the trade of Pakistan.
Now a big change is being introduced for a second time by the Government and Pakistan Customs in the shape of PSW.
This new system will digitize the processes related to importers, exporters, customs house agents, freight forwarders, shipping companies, transporters while ensuring the reduced cost of doing business with compliance of laws and regulations.
KCAA Office Bearers also assured their full support and cooperation for the implementation of automation in true spirit.
-
PSW to link 27 banks for trade facilitation
KARACHI: Naveed Abbas, Additional Director and Chief Domain Officer, Pakistan Single Window (PSW) has said that 27 banks will be integrated with the PSW for the facilitation of import and exports.
He was addressing at an orientation session organized by Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA) on Wednesday.
He said that the facility will help reduce time, cost, and complexity to ensure ease of business, besides supporting the government agencies in adopting an integrated risk management approach for efficient enforcement of control on cross-border trade.
Under the PSW platform, he said, an ICT-based port community system will also be established and all stakeholders including FIA, Customs, terminal operators, and others will be integrated for efficient cargo management at seaports, airports, dry ports, and land border crossings.
The implementation of PSW by June 2022 will enable Pakistan to achieve compliance with WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement besides helping to unlock its potential in becoming a hub for trade and transit.
He informed that thousand of registrations have been received so far in the PSW portal whereas 27 banks will also be integrated with PSW which would save the business community from visiting banks to fulfill the requirement of Export and Import forms. Right now in the first phase, PSW have five large banks integrated and other are under process.
Yawar Nawaz, Additional Director (PSW) gave a detailed presentation on the main context of Pakistan Single Window (PSW) is to efficient cross border trade management – key enabler for FDI, GVCs integration, International Trade & Transit; 75 Regulators – working in silos with weak controls, limited resources, antiquated regulations/enforcement; Resultant Thick Borders – nullifies strategic location of Pakistan & investment in allied infrastructure and NSW to overhaul management of external trade/transit & fulfil commitment under WTO’s TFA.
The Scope of PSW is that Single ICT based National Trade Platform for processing cross border trade; Process re-engineering & back-end automation of participating government departments; Port Community System for removing logistic side inefficiencies; Integrated Risk Management for smarter controls, compliance & facilitation; Integrated Tariff Management System for simplified compliance; A robust Business Model for sustainable operations & phased expansion.
The Core Services of PSW are Integrated Tariff Management System, Unified Registration System, Unified e-Payment System, Integrated Lab Management, Integrated Risk Management System, Joint Inspections, Port Community System, Trade Information Portal, Alignment of WeBOC, Hardware, Change Management and Implementation Plan.
The Cardinals for PSW is to eliminating redundancy & duplication, least physical engagement among stakeholders, use of standardized and harmonized data elements, incremental submission of structured data with parallel processing, automatic routing & verifications and real time information exchange. Samar Jamil, BPM Head (PSW) briefed the Registration Process step by step.
After detailed presentation, exporters asked several questions related to PSW which was answered by the PSW Team of Officials.
Muhammad Jawed Bilwani Chief Coordinator & Former Central Chairman PHMA welcomed the PSW Officials at PHMA for this orientation seminar to enlighten the exporters about the main features of PSW which will provide single electronic platform for facilitating compliance with regulatory regime for cross border trade in Pakistan and to answer questions asked by exporters.
Shahzad Azam Khan, Central Chairman PHMA; Abdul Rehman, Chairman (SZ) PHMA; Abdul Kadir Bilwani, Senior Vice-Chairman; Faisal Arshad Shaikh, Vice-Chairman also participated in the Seminar and appreciated this imperative initiative which is a need of time to provide single and unified platform for business requirements which will decrease the cost of manufacturing and shall increase the ease of doing business.
-
PSW to reduce trade cost, time, and complications: Tarin
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Friday said that Pakistan Single Window (PSW) will facilitate trade by reducing cost, time and complications.
Shaukat Tarin presided over the first meeting of Governing Council of PSW held at the Finance Division.
The finance minister appreciated the progress and stated that PSW will reduce time, cost and complications while contributing significantly towards ease of doing business in the country.
He said that PSW will enable Pakistan to unlock its potential in becoming a hub for regional as well as international trade and transit.” Deep rooted reforms being undertaken under PSW program by the government will promote trade competitiveness with enhanced transparency and efficiency,” Tarin added.
The new system will leverage information and communication technology to ensure better compliance with the cross-border trade regulations.
The finance minister commended the efforts of Pakistan Customs as the lead agency of PSW program and all those who have been part of PSW, a transformational project, which will take Pakistan’s trade to the next level. He affirmed full support and facilitation on the occasion.
The Secretary of the Governing Council briefed the Finance Minister about the PSW, a virtual system which is connecting the concerned Ministries, Customs, port authorities, banks and other relevant departments after major process re-engineering to provide a single window for management of international trade.
The PSW is a facility that allows parties involved in trade and transport in Pakistan to lodge standardized information and documents at a single registration point.
This eliminates the hidden costs and removes inefficiencies in governance of international trade including logistics.
He further briefed that first phase of PSW program has been rolled out while its 2nd and 3rd phases will be completed within the next two years.
The implementation of PSW will make Pakistan’s ports competitive by minimizing the transaction costs and also enhance efficient provision of B2B and B2C value added services. The cargo would be cleared in a minimum possible time.
Over 75 regulatory departments will be fully integrated through ICT based system, providing a single point of entry to facilitate trading across borders with minimal need for any physical contact, he added.
The Governing Council (GC) is the apex body in the approved Business model of PSW under Pakistan Single Window Act, promulgated in April this year.
The GC comprises of key stakeholders and prominent private sector subject specialists to oversee timely completion of this important project while removing hurdles in its implementation.
The Finance Minister is the Chairperson of PSW’s Governing Council which also includes Secretary Commerce, Secretary M/o NFS&R, Secretary Maritime Affairs, Secretary Science & Technology, Secretary Narcotics Control Division, Member Customs Operations and CEO PSW Company.
Among others, Federal Secretary for Narcotics Akbar Durrani, Additional Secretary Commerce, Additional Secretary Economic Affairs Division, Member Customs FBR and senior officers of the Ministry of National Food Security & Research, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Science & Technology, Ministry of Maritime Affairs participated in the meeting.