Pakistan - Import & Export Regulatory Guide
Pakistan Customs (a wing of the Federal Board of Revenue, FBR) administers customs through the WeBOC electronic filing system. Import & Export Policy Orders are issued periodically by the Ministry of Commerce. FX is highly controlled by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Regulatory authorities
- Customs entry, WeBOC filings, valuation, anti-smuggling.
- Import Policy Order, Export Policy Order, trade defence.
- FX allocation, EIF/EFE registration, remittance approvals.
- PSQCANational standards, mandatory conformity marks.
Licensing regimes
| Licence | Scope | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
| EIF / EFE | Electronic Import Form / Export Form (per SBP FE Manual) - prerequisite for every consignment. | SBP via authorised dealer |
| Import authorisation under IPO | Regulated HS codes listed in Import Policy Order Appendices. | MoC |
| PSQCA CoC | Regulated products - electrical, cement, packaged water, tyres. | PSQCA |
| DRAP registration | Pharma, medical devices, biologicals. | Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan |
- · Import of goods on the Negative List (IPO Appendix A) - certain narcotic drugs, obscene material.
- · Second-hand certain items - refrigerators, air conditioners, batteries.
- · Wildlife listed under Pakistan Trade Control of Wild Fauna & Flora Act.
- · Goods from Israel (long-standing embargo).
- · Vehicles - Personal Baggage / Gift / TR scheme with age limits + regulatory duty stack.
- · Precursor chemicals - ANF / MoNC licensing.
- · Fuel & petroleum products - OGRA regime.
- · Sugar & wheat - state-trading enterprise (TCP) allocation.
- · English/Urdu-language labelling on prepackaged retail goods.
- · PSQCA mark on regulated products.
- · DRAP registration number on pharma packs.
- · Country-of-origin marking under Customs Rules.
- · UNSC measures implemented under Anti-Terrorism Act & UN Security Council (Act) 1948.
- · Embargo on trade with Israel (statutory).
- · Banks screen OFAC/EU/UN for USD/EUR clearing.
Dispute resolution
Departmental appeal to Collector (Appeals) within 30 days; onward Customs Appellate Tribunal; High Court on questions of law. ICSID and Islamabad-seat ICC / CIETAC commercial arbitration common. NY Convention party since 2005.
Key official sources
Frequently asked questions (2)
The Electronic Import Form is Pakistan's core FX-and-import authorisation. The authorised dealer bank enters the transaction on WeBOC linked to SBP's core banking, allocating FX (or 'own funds') before the shipping documents can be released. Missing EIF blocks clearance and delivery.
Customs duty is scheduled in the Tariff (0-35% typical bands). Regulatory duty (RD) is imposed by SRO under Section 18(3) of the Customs Act - typically 5-100% on non-essential imports to protect FX or local industry. Both stack, along with sales tax, ACD, income-tax withholding at import.
Compliance-ready templates for cross-border trade
Sanctions screening, KYC and end-use documentation are the first thing customs and correspondent banks check. Start with these free templates.