Pakistan Single Window (PSW) and the General Administration of Customs People’s Republic of China (GACC) have formed a Joint Working Group (JWG) on Single Window cooperation and integration. The 1st consultation session between the two sides was held virtually in March 2022 attended by officials from the PSW Company, China Customs, and the Federal Board of Revenue.
During the consultation session, presentations were given by China Customs and PSW on their respective single window programs followed by a focused discussion on the cooperation mechanism and scope of data exchange. The two sides agreed to establish a JWG to devise the coordination mechanism and facilitate technical discussions between the two sides for the proposed integration.
GACC and Pakistan Customs are already exchanging trade valuation data through the Electronic Data Exchange mechanism. The data exchange helps both sides to detect under/over-invoicing and counter trade-based money laundering in bilateral trade.
Integration between the two single windows will expand the scope of the current data exchange to include full transmission of the Goods Declaration data, Phyto-sanitary certificates, Certificates of Origin, and shipping and logistics data to enable execution of advanced risk management techniques and expeditious clearance of goods. Both sides have also agreed to cooperate on the implementation of blockchain technology on the lines of similar initiatives being implemented by GACC with other countries.
China is Pakistan’s biggest trading partnerbeing the top country of origin for import of industrial and consumer goods and the second-biggest export destination after the United States.
