KARACHI: The Revenue Mobilization for Investment and Trade Programme (ReMIT) conducted a Roundtable Conference on Enquiry Point System with Customs leaders at a Pakistan Customs Academy here.

The conference was attended by senior officers of Pakistan Customs, including Wajid Ali, Chief Collector Customs Appraisement (South) Karachi, Asad Raza Rizvi, Collector Exports, who represented Chief Collector Customs Enforcement (South) Karachi, and collectors/directors of different formations of Pakistan Customs.

ReMIT-ITC project is being funded under a grant from the Foreign & Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) of the UK Aid in implementing a 4-year Technical Assistance program for Pakistan, The main thrust of this International Trade Center (Geneva) project is to promote Pakistan’s Exports and compliance level in line with the country’s commitments under the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement.

Inaugurating the session, Dr. Jawwad Agha, the National Project Coordinator & Advisor Trade Facilitation, informed that the project had initiated a series of seminars and workshops with the aim to equip the regulating agencies with comprehensive knowledge of the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) which was ratified by Pakistan in 2015. The TFA primarily aims at identifying obstacles in the movement of goods across borders in import, export, and transit trade and encourages the member countries to implement the trade facilitation measures included in various articles of the Agreement by providing technical support.

The Roundtable Conference on Enquiry Point System was implemented through a donation by the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO)/UK Aid.

The conference was aimed at understanding the obligation under Article 1.3 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement to put in place a robust system of Customs Enquiry Points. The UN-ITC team presented a Gap Analysis with international best practices with a way forward for establishing a system of Enquiry Points. The panel discussion emphasized the need for placing a sustainable network of Enquiry points with Customs a lead agency in order to achieve the objective of Trade Facilitation. The measure will also help in resolving issues faced by overseas personnel.

The panel of Customs Leaders (Chief Collector as well as Collectors) appreciated the work done by the UN-ITC team and observed that the recommendations made would be useful in achieving the ultimate objective of Trade Facilitation if adopted and implemented by the government.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022