ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Single Window (PSW) and the General Administration of Customs People’s Republic of China (GACC) have formed a Joint Working Group (JWG) on Single Window cooperation and integration.

The two sides agreed to establish a JWG to devise the coordination mechanism and facilitate technical discussions between the two sides for the proposed integration. The understanding was reached in the first virtual consultation session.

An official announcement said that GACC and Pakistan Customs are already exchanging trade valuation data under the Electronic Data Exchange mechanism. The data exchange helps both sides to detect under/over-invoicing and counter trade-based money laundering in bilateral trade.

The integration between the two single-windows will expand the scope of the current data exchange to include full transmission of the Goods Declaration data, phyto-sanitary certificates, Certificates of Origin, and shipping and logistics data to enable execution of advanced risk management techniques and expeditious clearance of goods.

Both sides have also agreed to cooperate on the implementation of blockchain technology on the lines of similar initiatives being implemented by GACC with other countries.

China is Pakistan’s biggest trading partner being the top country of origin for import of industrial and consumer goods and the second-biggest export destination after the United States.

Under the PSW initiative, the government of Pakistan is digitising the entire cross-border trade ecosystem and intends to integrate with regional and global data platforms on trade finance, shipping, and customs clearance.

PSW began rolling out in July 2021 and has completed integration with commercial banks for the exchange of cross-border trade-related financial information.

It recently launched the Trade Information Portal of Pakistan to provide a single access point for all import, export, and transit-related information and has also begun offering services for online application and processing of import permits, and phyto-sanitary certificates on imports and exports of agricultural goods and commodities regulated by the Department of Plant Protection.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2022