ISLAMABAD: Ministry of Commerce on Thursday said it has shared names of 38 exporters with international e-commerce platform Amazon for registration to promote trade and explore new markets for Pakistani exporters.

The details were shared during the second meeting of National e-Commerce Council, which reviewed the implementation of various policies at federal and provincial levels for the promotion of e-commerce.

The meeting was led by Adviser to PM on Commerce Abdul Razzak Dawood.

Commerce Secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar informed the meeting that commerce ministry is continuously engaged with its foreign trade missions to promote trade and explore new markets for exporters.

“Initially, a list of 38 exporters have been communicated to Amazon, which is limited to surgical, sports goods and home textiles sectors,” he said while adding added that the list will be expanded to other sectors in near future.

An official announcement issued after the meeting said the adviser briefed participants about the progress on the e-Commerce Policy, since its approval in October, 2019.

He underlined that the trend of e-commerce has increased rapidly in recent years with the development and easy accessibility of the internet. He stressed the importance of directing the resources towards digital adoption and connecting the small and medium enterprises to e-platforms across the globe, while exploring new market access opportunities for them.

Sharing the progress update, the State Bank of Pakistan officials said the regulatory framework for facilitation of cross border, business-to-consumer e-commerce has been developed, which will be adopted after integration with the e-commerce module to be developed by the Federal Board of Revenue in WeBoC (web-based one customs).

Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Authorities apprised participants of the incentives being announced for digital and e-commerce sector in the provincial budgets to support the sectors during these challenging circumstances.

Representatives from Consumer Protection Councils of Punjab and Lahore and from Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan informed that, in line with the directions of the e-Commerce Policy, Federal and Provincial Consumer Acts are being amended to include the subject of e-Commerce and the disputes arising from this sector.

They said that webinars are being planned to educate academia and train judicial officers on the subject of consumer protection.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan also shared several new initiatives to promote e-commerce, including the introduction of a separate sectoral classification of e-Commerce. So far, 152 businesses have registered on their portal.

In a video message, World Trade Organisation director general appreciated Pakistan’s e-Commerce Policy.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2020