Karachi: At present, all imports into Pakistan are required to be made compulsorily through Electronic Import Form (EIF), which was implemented to curb the illegal and duplicate payments of imports from Pakistan by unscrupulous elements.
But, The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday eased mandatory import procedures through the land routes of Afghanistan to reduce the cost of doing business for traders.
Now, the requirement for routing of shipping documents against registered contract through banks shall not be mandatory for imports from Afghanistan through land routes, according to a press release.
Pakistani importers may now directly receive shipping documents from the Afghani exporters and get the goods cleared after attachment of Goods Declaration(s) with EIF.
Once the importer gets the contract registered and EIF approved with the bank for multiple shipments, the importers shall not be required to approach the bank repeatedly for approval of EIF.
The relaxation is expected to provide benefits to the importers by reducing their cost of doing business and efficient processing of goods clearance at Customs Stations bordering Afghanistan.
