PESHAWAR: Collectorate of Customs Additional Collector Arbab Qaiser said that Pakistan Customs is committed to provide all facilities at Pakistan Afghanistan trade and transit route.
Additional Collector Customs was presiding over meeting with delegation of Afghanistan Pakistan Trade Portal (APTP) who visited Customs House Peshawar recently.
The meeting with officials of Customs Department was led by Project Director Simbal Khan. Customs delegation was headed by Arbab Qaiser Additional Collector, Customs Collectorate Peshawar. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Director Customs Transit Customs Station Torkham Inam Wazir, Additional Directorate of Transit Trade, Peshawar, Jahan Bahadur and APTP Research Assistant Arsalan Ahmed Raja.
According to the details, Simbal Khan thanked the customs officials for giving APTP team proper time to present the key concepts and objectives of the APTP Project. The discussion focused on current opportunities and future coordination on data and knowledge sharing, advocacy and strategic communication to highlight positive developments and new customs regulations facilitating trade between the two countries.
Customs officials made suggestions to provide updated Afghanistan-Pakistan trade data sourced from Pakistan State Bank website.
A mechanism through which relevant tariff and trade data from Afghanistan must also be sourced and posted on the portal as Afghanistan’s official trade data is not publically available or posted on officials websites, the customs delegation told.
There is also need to establish APTP mobile app to improve ease of doing business and attracting the new investors and businessman. The is a need to have Persian and Pashto language features on Afghanistan Pakistan Trade Portal APTP and its app to help vendors and businesses understand procedures and regulations on both sides of the Pak-Afghan borders.
Business to business matching:
Customs officials highlighted the importance of a Portal feature, which includes mechanisms for linking Afghan traders and businesses with Pakistani counterparts who have been vetted as legitimate businesses and verified by FBR.
