KARACHI: Pakistan Single Window (PSW) organised the preview of the ‘Trade Information Portal of Pakistan (TIPP)’ Friday before a group of public and private sector stakeholders to mark the roll out of the portal in compliance with Pakistan’s commitment under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.
The portal is aimed at facilitating cross-border trade by providing complete trade related information and guidance to individuals and businesses engaged in cross trade.
The portal, found at www.tipp.gov.pk, will be live on March 31, 2022, and will provide a single access point for all cross-border trade related information. Over 530 laws, regulations, procedures, and other trade-related measures from over 77 government agencies have been completely digitized and can now be accessed online. Businesses can also access and download licenses, permits, certificates and other documents from the portal and get complete information on applicable fees, processing times and step-by-step procedure.
The portal also provides guidance to overseas Pakistanis and foreign investors on various trade related rules and regulations.
Welcoming the participants to the event, Chief Domain Officer PSW Naveed Abbas Memon said, “The portal will provide Pakistan’s business community with easy access to information on import and export regulations and procedures. Also, it aims to improve the predictability and transparency of Pakistan’s business environment and provide foreign and domestic investors with quick and timely access to trade rules and regulations.”
With the launch of TIPP, PSW hopes that Pakistan’s business community will have a useful tool to find the information necessary to facilitate their import-export activities. PSW is committed to closely coordinating with the public and private sectors as well as international organizations to ensure the sustainability of the portal.
A guided journey for TIPP users was provided by Umair Mahmood Siddiqui, Project Lead TIPP, and a visual documentary on TIPP was screened. It was shared that the core features of PSW include digitized customs tariff, trade statistics with latest and current data on 9.2 million transactions. Moreover, it is available in English and Urdu languages.
The portal is the latest government initiative to improve cross-border trade and to facilitate Pakistan’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) by complying with the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. The development of the trade information portal is also a major step towards creating a conducive environment for doing business in Pakistan.
As a single, easily searchable platform containing all trade regulations and procedures, the portal will save businesses time and operational costs, especially smaller enterprises interested or involved in the import, export, and transit businesses. It will also improve trade regulations, as stakeholders will be able to suggest ways government could modernize and simplify regulations and procedures.
PSW is an initiative of Pakistan’s federal government with a focus of transforming the trade and industry ecosystem. The program encompasses several aligned smaller initiatives to support PSW’s cause of transforming trade such as business processes re-engineering, integrated risk management, ports community systems, introduction of new technology for trade management, data standardization and harmonization and integrated tariff management system.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022