KARACHI: Importers are no more required to submit original shipping and transport documents to the authorised dealers for payments against imports made on an open-account basis, said a circular issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday.

Earlier, importers were required to present original shipping or transport documents to authorised dealers for effecting the related import payments.

The initiative has been taken in the wake of requests from different stakeholders, including various chambers of commerce, importers, banks etc, as international trade is witnessing a shift from physical transfer of original transport documents to electronically transmitted transport documents, telex release etc to save cost and time.

Further, the implementation of electronic import form by the SBP and Pakistan Customs has strengthened the monitoring of imports into Pakistan and related payments, thus the possibility of multiple payments against a single import consignment through different banks stands eliminated, said the circular. It will facilitate importers and benefit exporters who import raw materials.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2017