The format of letter of credits (LCs) will be amended to change the nomenclature of Karachi Port (KP).
This was decided at a meeting of the stakeholders held at State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) this week under the chairmanship of Waqar Ali.
The meeting noted that the shipping companies did not recognise the destination mentioned on LCs as Keamari, Karachi, under a directive of the State Bank.
The importers suggested that the word "Keamari, Karachi," should be changed to Karachi Port along with Port Qasim.
Giving details of the meeting, Chairman of Shipping and Multi-modal Transport Committee of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Iftikhar Ahmed Sheikh, said that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had agreed to the proposal, which would be notified soon.
It may be pointed out that the State Bank had issued a circular in April on the nomenclature of ports in Pakistan to be mentioned in the LCs as Port Qasim and Keamari, Karachi. Since then, the importers were facing problems in getting delivery of goods at their desired water destination.
They had approached the State Bank to change the nomenclature as Karachi port, replacing the word "Keamari", which was not recognised internationally, so that they could get the delivery of their goods at Karachi Port.
Before the advent of Port Qasim, all the LCs mentioned Karachi as the port of destination for imports. The Port Qasim Authority (PQA) requested the State Bank to include the word Port Qasim in the LCs so that the goods landing at the port could be cleared there.
Since under the Customs rule, goods can only be cleared at the destination mentioned in the bill of lading, the State Bank amended the LC format by including Port Qasim and Keamari, Karachi, to make distinction between the two ports.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), KCCI, ship agents association, customs agents and banks.
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