Pakistan to establish online exchange of customs data with Uzbekistan

Pakistan is working on organizing the exchange of customs information with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, Business Recorder writes.

Syed Aftab Haider, director of Pakistan Single Window, the state-owned operator of the digital foreign trade platform, told the publication about this. He stated that the new system will allow to completely digitize the document flow regarding goods crossing the border.

It is planned to conclude agreements with the customs authorities of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan by the end of the year. Until then, PSW will complete work on launching an online document exchange with China.

As part of the integration with the customs system of the "single window" of the PRC, the set of transmitted online data will be expanded. Along with declarations of goods, certificates of origin, phytosanitary documents, and transportation data will be available in the system.

Haider expects that such an exchange will prevent the supply of undeclared goods. The system operator is now preparing a plan to revise the transit trade regimes in order to introduce a single procedure for cross-border trade for all countries.

The PSW system was launched in 2022 and currently has almost 70,000 users. The Single Window has significantly reduced paperwork in Pakistan's foreign trade, Haider said.

Trade documentation used in the country is fully standardized with the introduction of QR codes. The World Bank has estimated the savings from the launch of PSW at approximately $430 million.