KARACHI: Experts on Thursday stressed the need for early implementation of National Single Window (NSW) to facilitate trade and help improve the country’s ranking in ease of doing business index.

They were speaking at a seminar organised by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

There was a consensus among experts that the NSW was need of the hour to support trade facilitation through establishing linkages, simplifying cross-border formalities for traders and other economic operators.

The NSW will help smooth dealing with all government agencies that are involved with the movement of trade, goods, including tax, immigration, quarantine, agriculture, fisheries, foreign affairs and central bank.

The system will also enable standardised procedures across agencies and harmonised data through single electronic submission, they added.

It was also pointed that in order to improve governance of cross-border trade regimes with other economies most of the countries are increasingly relying on trade-related single window system.

They further said that lack of Information Communication Techno­logy (ICT) based on coordination and decision making among various regulatory authorities and customs has led to increasing cost, time and complication for undertaking cross-border trade in Pakistan.

Pakistan ranks 142 out of 190 countries in the ‘Trading across Borders’ indicator, according to the World Bank report on Ease of Doing Business for 2019.

These experts said the complexity to conduct trade impacts Pakistan’s competitiveness to integrate into global value chains and becoming a regional hub for trade and transit.

Listing major areas that are deteriorating country’s ranking are trading across borders and enforcing contracts etc, therefore, experts feel the NSW will help improve cross-border trading by streamlining and standardising procedures, reducing processing time, cost efficiency, increased transparency etc.

These experts suggested that in order to implement NSW, the Customs IT system needed to be up graded, all other concerned departments should also be asked to develop IT infrastructure and create linkages with NSW.

Above all, they said that all regulatory/legislative and risk management documents with NSW should be aligned and integration of dispute settlement resolution through Trade Dispute Resolution Authority should made part of the NSW.

After the conclusion of seminar, an interactive session between stakeholders, academia, officials from Pakistan Revenue Automation Ltd, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Civil Aviation Authority, export processing zones, customs and shipping agents, freight forwarders and air cargo agents was also held for stakeholders share their views.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2019