ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Single Window (PSW) Gover­ning Council on Monday extended the deadline to June for implementing the first phase of the much important project of border trade from the earlier announced March.

The council meeting was chaired by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin. Member Customs Operation Tariq Huda briefed the meeting about the progress so far made.

Until the last meeting, the government was determined and publically announced to roll out the first phase by end of the current month.

The project is believed to bring $500 million in annual savings and reduce cargo clearance time from days to hours by integrating over 75 regulatory departments.

An official announcement of the meeting said that the council was informed that the PSW programme is on course and will complete its first phase before June.

The PSW is a requirement under the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement, which was launched in 2013 and Pakistan ratified it in October 2015.

An official announcement issued after the meeting said that the meeting review the progress of PSW implementation. Mr Huda briefed the participants on the implementation status of previous decisions of the council.

The chief executive officer of the PSW Company gave a presentation on the progress already made and highlighted key challenges.

Mr Tarin expressed the government’s complete support and commitment to the PSW initiative aimed at facilitating trade and improving regulatory compliances.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2022