Pakistan Customs: adopting the whole of government approach

Kanwal Ali, Director, Directorate of NNDA (Customs), Islamabad

According to the World Customs Organization (WCO) the responsibilities of a customs administration are revenue collection; national security; community protection; trade facilitation; and collection of trade statistics. None of these responsibilities can be fulfilled if any Customs administration works in a silo.

This year the theme for International Customs Day is “Customs Engaging Traditional and New Partners with Purpose.” In other words, the World Customs Organisation (WCO) calls the customs administrations to enhance their collaborative efforts with relevant stakeholders: both old and new.

In this regard, one approach that governments are adopting successfully is termed as the Whole-of-Government Approach (WGA).

The Whole-of-Government Approach (WGA) refers to joint activities performed by diverse ministries, public administrations and public agencies in order to provide a common solution to a particular problem or issue.

The Approach calls for enhanced cooperation and collaboration between multiple national or international bodies and law enforcement agencies.

It offers a more integrated approach to public service delivery, with an aim to eliminate duplication, optimize resources and create synergies to provide seamless services to the citizens and businesses. Customs cannot operate effectively without adoption of this approach.

A whole-of-government strategy implies that the systems deployed throughout government are able to communicate with one another. Pakistan Customs through the portal of Pakistan Single Window (PSW) has successfully demonstrated the efficacy of this strategy.

PSW is an Integrated Digital Platform that allows parties involved in trade to lodge standardized information and documents with a single-entry point to fulfill all import, export, and transit-related regulatory requirements.

It aims at reducing the time and cost of doing business by digitalizing Pakistan’s cross-border trade and eliminating paper-based manual processes.It aims at process re-engineering and back-end automation of participating government departments while offeringintegrated risk management for smarter controls, compliance and facilitation.

Due to the promulgation of Pakistan Single Window, the country has significantly improved its ranking on the UN Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation.

This survey covers over 160 economies and 60 measures related to the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). The survey is conducted jointly by all five UN Regional Commissions, UNCTAD and a growing number of global and regional partners every two years.

It is heartening to note that Pakistan’s trade facilitation score has improved from 56.99% in 2021 to 70.97% in 2023, primarily due to PSW.

The post-epidemic world has taught us one important lesson: that interdependence has become a matter or survival, as we ought to stand united in face of any natural calamity/disease.

The recovery and healing of the world requires the governance systems to adopt an all inclusive approach. The Customs administrations being at the forefront of supply chain have one of the most important roles to play by ensuring safety and security of the global citizens.

Similarly, Pakistan Customs should further adopt an open communication policy based on national and international collaborations. Information exchange (both domestic and international) using Inter-agency agreements, MLAs, MoUs should also be revived and strengthened.

Criminal networks have become increasingly sophisticated over a period of time. There is a dire need to identify new trends and domains so that resources can be deployed at the right areas.

One glaring example of a recent surge in trans-national crimes has been discussed ina joint Study of the OECD and EUIPO "Trade in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods – Mapping the Economic Impact" (April 2016), complemented by another Study of the EUIPO on “Trade in counterfeit goods and free trade zones” (2018).

These reports highlight that trade in counterfeit and pirated goods has grown from US$250 billion annually in 2008 to more than US$461 billion in 2013.

Another updated report on "The Economic Impacts of Counterfeit and Piracy" reveals that counterfeiting and piracy continue to grow at an astounding rate.

Despite increased efforts by the private sector, governments, international government organizations and a growing number of NGOs, the problem is getting worse, not better.

The infiltration of counterfeit and pirated products adversely affects the global economy and deprives governments of legitimate revenues for vital public services, forces higher burdens on tax-payers, results in loss of jobs and exposes consumers to dangerous and fake products.

Such insightful reports clearly highlight the problem areas that need to be addressed by the Customs administrations globally.

There is a need to establish a task force within Pakistan Customs, mandated to study and identify similar priority areas so that relevant support functions can be strengthened adequately to address these pressing threats.

A step in this direction has already been taken by the Customs Academy of Pakistan, by tasking Customs officers to write meaningful reports on different topics for later modification and policy-making. This idea of “knowledge-creation” appears like a small step but it shall go a long way in enabling us to strategize effectively, while fulfilling our international obligations.

Despite all internal and external challenges, Pakistan Customs is doing a great job. It is one of the most automated departments of the government and has recently achieved a historical landmark in coordination with National Logistic Corporation (NLC) by clearing the first ever shipment under the multi-modal TIR Convention.

Besides Directorate General of Transit Trade Karachi and NLC multiple other agencies were actively involved in this historic shipment including: PNC-ICC, terminal operator QICT, International Road Union (IRU) etc.

This initiative will boost transit trade within Pakistan and bring more trading opportunities for Pakistani and regional business community.

With such initiatives, it would not be wrong to conclude that Pakistan Customs is effectively engaging traditional and new partners with purpose. All we need to do is to keep improving and keep evolving to match the pace with which the world is moving.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024