In a bid to facilitate exports through Pakistan Single Window and International Platforms, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday announced that it has amended foreign exchange regulations.

The SBP said that it has notified revisions in foreign exchange regulations for export of goods from Pakistan (Chapter 12 of the Foreign Exchange Manual).

The key changes include amendments in regulations to facilitate export transactions through the Pakistan Single Window when it becomes operational. This will eliminate the requirement of Electronic Form-E (EFE) for carrying out exports from Pakistan, the central bank said.

Another key amendment introduced in the revised export regulations is the framework for facilitating Pakistani exporters/ entrepreneurs to sell their products through international digital marketplaces including Amazon, e-Bay, Ali Baba under Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C) eCommerce model.

The SBP was of the view that these regulations would pave way for Pakistani exporters particularly the SME exporters to reach out to millions of international consumers for selling their products, and would open up window of new opportunities for the Pakistani business community.

The SBP is in process of revising the foreign exchange regulations, in a phased manner, with the objective to promote ease of doing business by simplifying the existing instructions, removing the redundancies and delegating more powers to the Authorized Dealers for facilitation of the stakeholders.

Earlier, SBP and Pakistan Customs had joined hands in 2015 and switched from manual export form to electronic export form by implementing EFE Module in WeBOC system. EFE is an electroni declaration submitted by exporters to the Pakistan Customs and is required before filing of Goods Declaration to the Pakistan Customs for clearance of each export consignment.

However, once the Pakistan Single Window (PSW) becomes operational, the requirement for EFE will be eliminated thus enhancing ease of doing business for exporters.

The State Bank says that the PSW system is a facility that will allow parties involved in trade and transport to lodge standardized information and documents with a single-entry point to fulfil all import, export, and transit-related regulatory requirements.

The system will help reduce the time and cost of doing business by making trade related business processes more efficient, transparent and consistent.