ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has declared that all trade-related information, transmission, documents or record gathered through the Pakistan Single Window (PSW) system will be confidential.
The FBR issued Pakistan Single Window Trade Data Dissemination, Exchange, and Utilization Rules 2022.
Under the new rules, the Customs and any other public or private sector entities exchanging data with the PSW system shall put in place adequate measures to ensure the protection of personal data, personal privacy, and the confidentiality of individual records and transactions including risk profiles and other such information, and to prevent unauthorized transmission/sharing of information with other entities and individuals. The rules stated that the operating entity may exchange trade data with national and international organizations including single window operators, foreign governments, and international organizations pursuant to signing of an agreement or MoU on such terms and conditions as the two sides agree with the approval of the PSW Governing Council for trade data exchange and integration, rules said.
The operating entity may disseminate the trade data collected by it or any of the ancillary systems linked to it including the Customs Computerized System, Port Community System, Trade Information Portal etc. or any system ancillary thereto for any of its authorized purposes.
The rules further revealed that all data recipients receiving trade data from the PSW system under any MoU, agreement, court’s order or authorization by the PSW Governing Council shall undertake to treat the received data as confidential and, to not share it or otherwise make it accessible to any third party without intimating and receiving the prior approval in writing of the operating entity and subject to any other such conditions as the operating entity may specify.
The rules added that the trade data of non-commercial imports and exports of strategic or national importance shall only be shared with authorized government agencies and departments after obtaining prior written approval from such strategic organizations and shall not be publicly disseminated or published or shared with non-governmental entities for any commercial or noncommercial purpose.
The data recipient shall undertake to ensure that the data obtained from the PSW system under this provision shall not be supplied to or shared with any other third party either free of cost or on payment without express authorization of the operating entity, subject to any other conditions or restrictions as the operating entity may specify. The data recipient shall undertake to acknowledge and cite PSW as the source of data correctly and appropriately in their respective work utilizing the PSW data whether in digital or print form, it added.
