Page 9 - TEXtalks July-August 2021

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State Bank’s new regulations to

facilitate exports

The state bank of Pakistan (SBP) has amended the requirement of Electronic Form-E (EFE) for
old regulations to facilitate the country’s exporters carrying out exports from Pakistan. Another
after the budget’s approval. SBP has notified critical amendment introduced in the revised
revisions in foreign exchange regulations for export regulations is the framework for facilitating
export of goods from Pakistan. In this regard, Pakistani exporters/ entrepreneurs to sell their
now Chapter 12 of the FE Manual relating to products through international digital
exports has been revised. Several significant marketplaces including Amazon, e-Bay, Ali Baba
changes have been made in the revised chapter under the Business to Business to Consumer
to streamline the existing instructions, remove (B2B2C) eCommerce model. These regulations
redundancies and delegate more powers to the would pave the way for Pakistani exporters,
Authorized Dealers. It is pertinent to mention here particularly SME exporters, to reach out to
that considering the market dynamics and millions of international consumers for selling
keeping pace with changing business their products. This would open up the window of
environment, SBP is revising the foreign new opportunities for the Pakistani business
exchange regulations in consultation with relevant community and boost economic activity and
stakeholders in a phased manner. The primary create new employment opportunities in the
objective of these revisions is to promote ease of entire value chain.
doing business by simplifying the existing
instructions, removing the redundancies, and Discount: Authorized Dealers may allow
delegating more powers to the Authorized exporters to make payments of commission /fee
Dealers for facilitation of the stakeholders. for any services obtained from the platform or
third party service provider/agents/ allow a
Some of the fundamental changes made in the discount, up to 10% of the FOB value of goods
chapter are given hereunder: exported from Pakistan. In cases where the
Paras 11A (Amended): Regulations on making & exporter is not required to pay any such
dispatch shipping documents in the name of the commission/service fee or allow a discount or
foreign buyer have been amended to allow SMEs where the amount of commission/service
and new exporters to use the facility. fee/discount is less than the prescribed limit of
Para 15B (New): New paragraph has been 10%, as mentioned above, the differential amount
added to include instructions relating to the (10% of the FOB value less the actual amount of
execution of export transactions under the commission/service fee/discount) can be
Pakistan Single Window system. retained in Exporter’s Special Foreign Currency
Para 41 (New): Regulatory framework on Account with the Authorized Dealers in Pakistan.
Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C) The funds available in these accounts may be
e-Commerce exports has been introduced to utilized for making different types of payments
facilitate the exporters in selling their products abroad, including referral fee, shipment, handling
or fulfillment charges, warehousing or storage
through international digital marketplaces. fee, marketing /promotion, settlement of overdue/
shortfall export proceeds, replacements, and
One of the highlights of the changes includes other services related to e-commerce exports,
amendments in regulations to facilitate export etc. However, the funds available in these
transactions through the Pakistan Single Window accounts can be converted into PKR at any time
when it becomes operational. This will eliminate upon request of the customer.

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