The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Northern Zone organised a workshop on Pakistan Single Window (PSW) for its member mills on Monday. Ms Laraib Ghaffar, Domain Officer, conducted the workshop along with Arshad Hussain, Head of Operations & Support, Sarfraz Amjad, Senior Business Analyst, Hussain Sahi, Associate Business Analyst, and Faisal Hussain, Assistant Manager, Chain Management, PSW. Senior Vice Chairman Kamran Arshad and Secretary-General APTMA Raza Baqir welcomed the delegation on the occasion. A large number of concerned staff from the member mills attended the workshop. Ms Laraib Ghaffar explained the working of the system. She also apprised the member mills as how to subscribe and register for it. While giving a detailed presentation, she said the prime objective of PSW is to reduce the cost of doing business and minimize interface between the exporters and Customs authorities. She said the export of items have been classified under chapter 1 to 30 of Pakistan Customs Tariff through PSW’s Single Declaration (Exports) while another 10 would be added to it in the coming days. She advised the member mills to file single declaration (exports) through PSW system for Customs clearance of export consignments w.e.f. 1st November 2022. She said the facility has been designed to reduce time, cost, and complexity to ensure ease of business, besides supporting the government agencies in adopting an integrated risk management approach for efficient enforcement of control on cross-border trade. Under the PSW platform, she said, an ICT-based port community system has been established and all stakeholders including FIA, Customs, terminal operators, and others are integrated for efficient cargo management at seaports, airports, dry ports, and land border crossings. According to her, the PSW is a facility that allows parties involved in trade and transport in Pakistan to lodge standardized information and documents at a single registration point. This eliminates hidden costs and removes inefficiencies in the governance of international trade including logistics, he added. She said over 75 regulatory departments including customs, banks, port authorities, shipping companies, brokers, etc., have been integrated through ICT based system, providing a single point of entry to facilitate trading across borders with minimal need for any physical contact. Senior Vice Chairman APTMA Kamran Arshad termed the PSW an ideal situation for the textile industry in Pakistan. He appreciated the patience of the PSW team in responding to the queries raised by the APTMA member mills. This will make the programme more effective in case the anomalies are removed in line with the proposals made by the member mills, he added. Raza Baqir presented a vote of thanks to the visiting delegation and expressed the hope that such interactions would continue in future as well.