KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan, in order to facilitate international trade, has dispensed with the requirement of submission of original shipping/transport documents to the authorised dealers by the importers for payments against imports made on open account basis.
Earlier, importers were required to present original shipping/transport documents to authorised dealers for effecting the related import payments. The initiative has been taken in the wake of requests from different stakeholders including various chambers of commerce, importers, banks etc as international trade is witnessing shift from physical transfer of original transport documents to electronically transmitted transport documents, Telex Release etc to save cost and time involved in physical transfer of such documents from foreign seller to the importer.
Further, implementation of Electronic Import Form (EIF) by the SBP and Pakistan Customs has strengthened the monitoring of imports into Pakistan and related payments, thus, the possibility of multiple payments against single import consignment through different banks stands eliminated, said the central bank’s statement released on Friday.
It would not only provide facilitation to importers but would equally be beneficial for the exporters who import inputs/raw materials for manufacturing of exportable goods/products.
