KARACHI: The State Bank and Federal Board of Revenue on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to streamline issuance of Form-E that will benefit the stakeholders and reduce the cost of doing business, said a press release.

The SBP and the Pakistan Customs have developed an Electronic Form-E (EFE) module in consultation with relevant stakeholders and incorporated in the Pakistan Customs’ electronic system called Web-based One Customs (WeBOC).

SBP Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra and FBR Chairman Tariq Bajwa signed the MoU and expressed their optimism that the automation of Form-E would have manifold benefits to all stakeholders and the country would reap advantages of increased inflow of foreign exchange.

“The automation will reduce the cost of doing business for exporters and will bring efficiency in the system,” the SBP governor said.

The FBR chairman said the move would also facilitate in efficient processing of duty drawback claims of the exporters as well as preventing any fake/bogus documentation.

Currently, Form-E is issued manually by authorised dealers (banks). The system will begin receiving applications for EFE with effect from Nov 2, 2015, for exports taking place from Nov 11, 2015 onwards. The request for EFE will be submitted electronically by the exporter in WeBOC and the bank will approve or reject EFE electronically in WeBOC.

However, for exports taking place through One Customs, manual Form-E will be issued by banks as per existing instructions.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2015

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