ISLAMABAD: The Petroleum Division (PD) is set to seek approval of long-awaited Policy Guidelines on “Import on Foreign Supplier’s Account through Customs Bonded Storage Facilities” from the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, along with divergent views of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
According to Petroleum Division, Policy guidelines on Import on Foreign Supplier’s Account through Customs Bonded Storage Facilities were approved by the ECC on June 26, 2023.
Subsequently, all the relevant stakeholders issued their respective SOPs, guidelines and rules for implementation of the Policy. However, to date, no Foreign Supplier has established any bonded storage facility under the said Policy.
The ongoing disruption of the Strait of Hormuz has highlighted the vulnerability of the country’s energy security. To address this challenge, the Petroleum Division is focusing on the development and strengthening of the key pillars of the country’s energy security architecture in the oil and gas sector, which, inter alia, include indigenization, development of Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) and promotion of Customs Bonded Storage Facilities to ensure a resilient and sustainable petroleum supply chain.
In this regard, the Minister for Petroleum constituted a Committee on May 7, 2026 to review the existing Policy Guidelines on Customs Bonded Storage Facilities and to propose specific recommendations for operationalizing the Policy.
The Committee held a series of meetings and sought inputs from major petroleum traders and suppliers. Based on the deliberations, a revised draft of the Policy Guidelines on “Import on Foreign Supplier’s Account through Customs Bonded Storage Facilities” was prepared.
Accordingly, the revised draft Policy Guidelines were circulated among the concerned stakeholders on June 15, 2026, including the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industries & Production, Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), Board of Investment (BoI) and the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) for their views and comments.
FBR, SBP, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Maritime Affairs, SIFC and BoI conveyed their comments. Based on the said comments, particularly those of the FBR, the proposed Policy Guidelines were further amended substantially to address concerns and re-circulated on July 23, 2026 among stakeholders for their views/ comments.
In this regard, supportive views/ comments were received from Ministry of Commerce and SBP. However, FBR vide their comments maintained their concerns on primary clauses. In order to develop consensus on the Policy Guidelines, Minister for Energy (Petroleum Division) chaired a meeting of the Committee on August 05, 2026 attended by all members of the Committee. The policy was improved in the light of comments of Minister for Maritime Affairs and Chairman OGRA.
The comments of stakeholders, particularly FBR, were deliberated in detail. FBR reiterated its reservations on certain provisions in the light of their prevalent laws such as Customs Act 1969 and Sales Tax Act 1990.
Petroleum Division considers that to develop Bonded Storages in the country in the light of prevailing geo-political situation in the region, the proposed Policy Guidelines are critical for approval and amendment in the relevant laws and respective legal, regulatory and procedural frameworks to implement the policy.
The Minister for Energy (Petroleum Division) also appreciated the valuable contributions of the Minister for Maritime Affairs and the Chairman Ogra in facilitating consensus on this strategically important policy.
The following Policy Guidelines are being submitted to the ECC for its node: This Policy Guideline applies to the import, (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Foreign Supplier’) of crude oil (all grades), motor spirit (including premium motor gasoline), high speed diesel (HSD), jet fuel (aviation turbine fuel, JP-1), fuel oil (including furnace oil), LPG and LNG on Foreign Suppliers’ accounts, through Customs Bonded Storage facilities in Pakistan, except where such goods are subject to international sanctions binding on Pakistan or are listed in the Negative List of the Import Policy Order, 2022, as may be amended from time to time.
For the purposes of this Policy, following location framework applies:
a) Domestic sales to OMCs and Refineries — Foreign Suppliers may maintain bonded inventory for the purpose of local sale at both private and public bonded storage terminals, including dedicated storage terminals, at the approved locations, including Port Qasim Authority, KPT/ Keamari, Hub, Gwadar Port or any other designated port proposed/ approved by the relevant authority, Mahmood Kot (Punjab) and Machike Sheikhupura (Punjab).
b) Inbound and Re-Export — For the purpose of import into bonded storage and re-export, both private and public bonded storage terminals at the port are approved locations, including Port Qasim Authority, KPT/ Keamari, Hub and Gwadar Port or any other designated port proposed/ approved by the relevant authority, subject to compliance of relevant laws and regulations of respective port, marine and other regulatory authorities.
c) Pipeline Access — Foreign Suppliers, through Consignee, shall have access to the national petroleum pipeline network to move bonded inventory in bond from port-based approved locations to inland approved locations (such as, Mahmood Kot and Machike Sheikhupura) for the purpose of local sales to licensed Oil Marketing Companies and refineries. No duty or tax shall be triggered by such bonded pipeline movement. Goods Declaration (GD) filing requirements shall apply as mentioned in Para J.
d) Existing OMC Import Regime — Nothing in this Policy Guideline shall affect or alter the existing regime for imports of petroleum products by licensed Oil Marketing Companies and refineries under their own account. The existing OMC import regime shall continue unchanged and in parallel with this scheme.
e) Ogra Protocols for Expanded Products — The application of this Policy to crude oil (all grades), motor spirit (including premium motor gasoline), high speed diesel (HSD), jet fuel (aviation turbine fuel, JP-1), fuel oil (including furnace oil), LPG and LNG at any approved bonded storage location shall be subject to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority having first published and notified product-specific safety, insurance, containment and emergency response protocols for each such product at that location. Ogra shall determine and publish readiness status for each product category at each approved location individually; the policy applies to each product at each location as and when OGRA confirms readiness.
The foreign supplier, through consignee, will be allowed to maintain inventory of crude oil (all grades), motor spirit (including premium motor gasoline), high speed diesel (HSD), jet fuel (aviation turbine fuel, JP-1), fuel oil (including furnace oil), LPG and LNG in both private and public bonded storage (including dedicated storage terminals) as follows:
(i) For domestic sales to licensed oil marketing companies and refineries: at approved bonded storage locations including Port Qasim Authority, KPT/ Keamari, Hub, Gwadar Port or any other designated port proposed/ approved by the relevant authority, Mahmood Kot (Punjab) and Machike Sheikhupura (Punjab), without foreign exchange remittances, pending its sale to local purchasers; and (ii) For inbound receipt and re-export: at approved port bonded storage locations including Port Qasim Authority, KPT/ Keamari, Hub and Gwadar Port or any other designated port proposed/ approved by the relevant authority, without foreign exchange remittances, pending re-export to other foreign countries.
The permitted mode of participation of the foreign supplier is governed by Para B of this Policy Guideline.
The Foreign Supplier may participate through a liaison office duly registered in Pakistan or through any designated person (locally established branch or locally incorporated company, related or unrelated) in Pakistan which will be considered as ‘the Consignee’ for the purpose of this Policy.
The consignee shall have the options to develop their own dedicated storage infrastructure and/ or utilise private or public bonded warehouse facilities and dedicated storage terminals located at approved bonded storage locations in Pakistan for storing crude oil (all grades), motor spirit (including premium motor gasoline), high speed diesel (HSD), jet fuel (aviation turbine fuel, JP-1), fuel oil (including furnace oil), LPG and LNG, duly licensed by OGRA under the Pakistan Oil (Refining, Blending, Transportation, Storage and Marketing) Rules, 2016, subject to relevant regulatory approvals under the Customs Act, 1969 and port authorities.
The Consignee’s bonded storage facility (whether public bonded warehouse, private bonded warehouse or dedicated storage terminal) shall be licensed by the Customs after fulfilment of requirements for operating as a Bonded Warehouse for storage of crude oil (all grades), motor spirit (including premium motor gasoline), high speed diesel (HSD), jet fuel (aviation turbine fuel, JP-1), fuel oil (including furnace oil), LPG and LNG under Section 12 and 13 of the Customs Act, 1969, and for petroleum products, duly licensed by Ogra under the Pakistan Oil (Refining, Blending, Transportation, Storage and Marketing) Rules, 2016.
The Consignee shall not be required to register with the FBR under the Sales Tax Act, 1990 as a condition for commencing operations under this Policy. For domestic sales of bonded goods to Oil Marketing Company or refinery: all Sales Tax obligations in respect of the domestic sale transaction — including registration as importer under the Sales Tax Act, 1990, filing of returns, and payment of Sales Tax — shall rest solely with the Oil Marketing Company or refinery as importer of record at ex-bonding. The Foreign Supplier and the Consignee shall have no Sales Tax registration requirement, no return-filing obligation and no liability to pay Sales Tax in respect of domestic sales under this Policy.
Under this Policy, concessions shall be granted to the Consignee and the Foreign Supplier to ensure they remain tax neutral in Pakistan in respect of bonded storage, blending, trading and re-export operations.
No tax, duty, levy, charge or cess and corresponding registrations under any federal or provincial law shall be applicable to the Consignee or the Foreign Supplier in respect of goods that remain within the bonded regime (and have not been de-bonded for domestic consumption in Pakistan). These concessions are on an entity-wide basis and shall apply uniformly across all approved bonded storage locations in Pakistan.
The following conditions apply: (i) Tax obligations in respect of goods de-bonded for domestic consumption shall apply in the normal manner and are the responsibility of the Oil Marketing Company or refinery; (ii) This clause operates as an interpretive principle and as an administrative assurance; the specific tax exemptions are effected through statutory regulatory orders and amendments notified separately by the Federal Board of Revenue and relevant provincial authorities.
At the time of storing the goods received under the scheme, the consignee shall not be required to file Electronic Import Form (EIF) with his GD for In-bonding. The following system changes are required to operationalise this arrangement: (i) A joint SBP/ FBR circular enabling multiple partial EIFs to be drawn against a single in-bond cargo GD; (ii) WeBOC configured to track cumulative ex-bonded quantity and accept NOC-based ex-bond GDs.
The Consignee may sell bonded goods to licensed purchasers in foreign currency, with the Letter of Credit/ open contract in the name of the Foreign Supplier directly in Foreign Supplier’s foreign bank account through authorized dealer (bank), as per applicable foreign exchange regulations.
Sale and purchase of goods between the Foreign Supplier and Pakistani purchasers is on a purely commercial basis without any liability on the part of the Government of Pakistan.
Upon domestic sale of bonded goods, the Consignee shall issue a no-objection certificate for change of ownership. The Oil Marketing Company or refinery shall file the ex-bond GD, submit the Electronic Import Form through its designated scheduled bank, and pay all leviable customs duty, sales tax and charges at rates applicable at ex-bonding on the value as mentioned in K (iii) below.
FBR shall allow movement of duty paid product through pipeline or any other mode of transportation and facilitate local purchasers for input/ output tax adjustments.
The crude oil (all grades), motor spirit (including premium motor gasoline), high speed diesel (HSD), jet fuel (aviation turbine fuel, JP-1), fuel oil (including furnace oil), LPG and LNG stored in the bonded storage facility shall only be sold/ supplied, within the country, to Oil Refineries and Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and possess a valid licence from Ogra and purchaser of petrochemicals and bio-fuels having valid license from respective regulator.
The local purchasers shall be required to file GD with customs authorities. Local sales may be affected from bonded storage at any of the approved locations, including Port Qasim Authority, KPT/ Keamari, Hub, Gwadar Port or any other designated port proposed/ approved by the relevant authority, Mahmood Kot (Punjab) and Machike Sheikhupura (Punjab).
The existing regime for imports of petroleum products by licensed Oil Marketing Companies and refineries under their own account shall continue unchanged and in parallel with this scheme.
Nothing in this Policy shall be construed as restricting or altering OMC/ Refineries import rights in line with the PRM framework. Upon importation into Pakistan and any subsequent movement between bonded warehouses without a sale, the Consignee shall file the in-bond GD. Upon sale to a local purchaser, the local purchaser shall file the relevant ex-bond GD immediately.
Ogra Pricing Scope: Ogra regulated pricing applies solely to onward sale of petroleum products in the country by the purchaser from bonded storage and does not restrict the international oil supplier’s unconditional right to re-export bonded goods at any time.
Pricing obligations under Ogra notifications are obligations of the local purchaser — not of the Foreign Supplier or Consignee. (ii) Unconditional Re-Export Right: The Government of Pakistan shall not restrict, prohibit or delay re-export of goods held in customs bonded storage on the international oil supplier’s account, except where such goods are subject to international sanctions binding on Pakistan or are listed in the Negative List of the Import Policy Order as amended from time to time.
(iii) Pricing Flexibility: Foreign Suppliers retain full pricing flexibility to sell bonded petroleum products to local Oil Marketing Companies and refineries at commercially negotiated prices. Such commercially negotiated prices shall not be subject to Ogra price notifications.
The customs value of imported goods, for the purposes of assessment of applicable customs duties, taxes, levies, and other statutory charges, shall be the transaction value prevailing at the time of sale to the local purchaser in Pakistan. For the avoidance of doubt, the sale by the Consignee and ex-bonding by the local purchaser occur simultaneously, the transaction value applicable on the date of filing of the ex-bond GD will apply. (iv) Force Majeure Emergency Requisition — Strictly Limited: a) Applicability: Emergency requisition applies exclusively where the government of Pakistan has officially declared a formal emergency event — being war, armed conflict, major natural disaster, or complete and documented collapse of domestic supply, etc.
Emergency requisition does not apply to routine energy shortages, price fluctuations, geopolitical events not causing supply disruption, or government procurement preferences. b) Scope: The government will have the right to request access bonded petroleum stocks of the Consignee physically present at all approved bonded storage locations at the time of the request. c) Compensation: Requisitioned goods shall be compensated at the prevailing international market price on the date of requisition, as determined by reference to the weekly average of published Platts price assessment for the relevant product and delivery point, paid in any foreign currency within fifteen calendar days of delivery. d) Procedure: The Government shall submit a formal requisition notice specifying volume, product and delivery point. e) No Retention: Requisitioned stocks shall be purchased and removed within fourteen days of request by the Government of Pakistan. No authority may require the Consignee to hold stocks in reserve. f) No Minimum Stock Obligation: This paragraph shall not be construed as imposing any minimum stock obligation on the Consignee or Foreign Supplier.
Domestic Sale Transactions: Port dues, customs clearing charges and related operational charges arising from the ex-bonding of goods for domestic sale shall be the responsibility of the Oil Marketing Company or refinery. The Consignee shall not be liable for port dues or clearing charges on domestic sale transactions.
ii) Re-Export Transactions: Port dues, customs clearing charges and related operational charges arising from re-export of bonded goods shall remain the responsibility of the Consignee, who is the exporter of record for re-export purposes. No change is made to the consignee’s obligations in respect of re-export transactions. For the sake of clarity, in this case, the Consignee will not be subjected to any import/ export taxes, duties, or cess etc.
No product falling under Appendix-A (Negative List) of the Import Policy Order in vogue shall be supplied under this scheme. The Consignee shall provide a Certificate of Origin of the product accompanied by detail product specifications through an accredited international laboratory or pre-shipment inspection company which will be provided to customs authorities for each consignment.
The Consignee shall be required to fulfil the conditions mentioned against crude oil (all grades), motor spirit (including premium motor gasoline), high speed diesel (HSD), jet fuel (aviation turbine fuel, JP-1), fuel oil (including furnace oil), LPG and LNG falling under Appendix B (Restricted Items) of the Import Policy Order for the purpose of import under this scheme. Note: Appendix A (Negative List) and Appendix B (Restricted Items) of the Import Policy Order 2022 shall be reviewed to confirm no entry inadvertently restricts petrochemicals or bio-fuels now covered under this Policy.
Quality Clearance: This provision applies to all products under this Policy: crude oil (all grades), motor spirit (including premium motor gasoline), high speed diesel (HSD), jet fuel (aviation turbine fuel, JP-1), fuel oil (including furnace oil), LPG and LNG. Post-Discharge Mechanism: Discharge of cargo from vessel into onshore bonded storage is permitted upon the vessel’s arrival at berth for all product types. Cargo shall be held under bonded quarantine in the receiving shore tank pending quality clearance. The vessel shall not be detained at berth pending quality clearance under any circumstances. i) Products for Domestic Consumption: Quality clearance shall require both: a) an internationally recognised inspection agency certificate issued at the load port from Lloyd’s Register, Quality Tech International, ABS Group, Bureau Veritas or SGS S.A., accepted as prima facie evidence of product conformity; and b) HDIP testing and certification from samples drawn from the bonded quarantine storage tank after discharge in case OGRA regulated petroleum products.
HDIP shall issue its quality report within twelve hours of receipt of shore-side sample; failing which, deemed clearance shall apply on the basis of the load-port certificate. ii) Products for Re-Export: The international inspection agency load-port certificate is the sole quality document required. HDIP has no authority over products designated for re-export. iii) All Products: International inspection agency load-port certificates are accepted as prima facie evidence of conformity for all products under this Policy.
HDIP testing for domestic-bound products is confirmatory and post discharge — it does not gate vessel departure or delay discharge.
Ogra shall ensure that allocation/ lifting of petroleum products from refineries is subject to PRM approval and not compromised by local purchasers. The bonded stock held by Foreign Suppliers under this Policy is separate from and does not affect refinery off-take obligations of OMCs.
Bonded petroleum stocks of crude oil (all grades), motor spirit (including premium motor gasoline), and high-speed diesel (HSD) maintained under valid off-take agreements between a licensed Oil Marketing Company and the Consignee shall be acknowledged as eligible inventory over and above the mandatory days cover as stipulated by OGRA.
BOI/ SIFC shall coordinate with FBR, SBP, OGRA, Ministry of Commerce, Port Authorities and all other relevant departments to align their rules, regulations and SOPs with this Policy. The Petroleum Division, Ministry of Energy, remains the Lead Coordinating Authority for regulatory policy alignment across all agencies; BoI’s/ SIFC’s single window function is investor-facing facilitation and does not override respective regulations.
Regulatory Coordination: (i) The Petroleum Division, Ministry of Energy, is hereby designated Lead Coordinating Authority for this Policy and in no case can assume the powers and functions of other ministries/ divisions as provided in Rules of Business. (ii) The Petroleum Division shall issue a Consolidated Operational Procedures Document comprising of relevant SOPs, rules and guidelines. (iii) BOI/ SIFC shall establish and operate a single-window clearance mechanism covering Port Qasim Authority, KPT/ Keamari, Hub and Gwadar Port or any other designated port proposed/ approved by the relevant authority for all regulatory requirements by the Consignee through one interface. (iv) Bonded petroleum products may move between all approved bonded storage locations, pipelines, refineries, ports and export terminals under a customs-supervised transit mechanism without triggering any duty or tax incidence, provided the product remains within the bonded regime. (v) Daily Reporting to Ogra: The Consignee shall report to the Ogra on a daily basis the stocks held at each approved bonded storage location, disaggregated by product grade, in a format prescribed by Ogra and entered into a central regulatory database designated by Ogra for visibility by the relevant regulators. This reporting obligation applies to all products being regulated by Ogra and covered by this Policy and all approved bonded storage locations.
The government of Pakistan assures that the principle of anti-expropriation shall be strictly adhered to in respect of the investments, assets and business operations of the Consignee and Foreign Supplier under this Policy.
Re-export of crude oil (all grades), motor spirit (including premium motor gasoline), high speed diesel (HSD), jet fuel (aviation turbine fuel, JP-1), fuel oil (including furnace oil), LPG and LNG, received into the country for storage in Customs Public Bonded Warehouse or private bonded storage terminal at approved port locations (including Port Qasim Authority, KPT/ Keamari, Hub, Gwadar Port or any other designated port proposed/ approved by the relevant authority), shall be allowed from the Customs Bonded Warehouse, without Letter of Credit, advance payment or open contact and Electronic Export Form (EEF), subject to fulfilment of the following terms and conditions: (i) i. Ogra shall have the First Right of Refusal on procurement of the last 10 percent of the products stored in the Customs Bonded Warehouse under this Policy. The Consignee will seek prior permission of OGRA before export of the last 10 percent of in-bonded products, which shall be decided within 2 days. In case of non receipt of the decision/ reply by Ogra, within the stipulated timeframe, the consent of the OGRA will be deemed approved ;(ii) The crude oil (all grades), motor spirit (including premium motor gasoline), high speed diesel (HSD), jet fuel (aviation turbine fuel, JP-1), fuel oil (including furnace oil), LPG and LNG have been imported and stored in compliance with the above-mentioned conditions ;(iii) Subsequent to re-export of crude oil (all grades), motor spirit (including premium motor gasoline), high speed diesel (HSD), jet fuel (aviation turbine fuel, JP-1), fuel oil (including furnace oil), LPG and LNG, the Consignee shall file GD for re-export with the relevant Collector of Customs.
The GD shall be processed within twenty-four hours of filing. For the avoidance of doubt, the Consignee shall not be required to obtain any pre-approval for re-export from any regulator whatsoever; and (iv) The FBR will allow access to its MIS systems to OGRA for visibility of crude oil (all grades), motor spirit (including premium motor gasoline), high speed diesel (HSD), jet fuel (aviation turbine fuel, JP-1), fuel oil (including furnace oil), LPG and LNG in customs bonded storages on supplier account and OMC account, whichever the case may be. In addition, the Consignee shall report to Ogra on a daily basis the stocks held at each approved bonded storage location, disaggregated by product grade, entered into a central regulator.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026