Register On PSW
Your trader profile is the starting point for everything that follows.
Get The EIF Approved
Your bank approves the Electronic Import Form electronically. It ties the shipment to your import payment.
Collect The Shipping Documents
Invoice, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill, and the certificate of origin from the supplier.
File The Goods Declaration
The GD goes to customs, duty is assessed and paid, and the cargo is released.
PSW And WeBOC, Explained Once
This confuses almost every new importer, because the guides online contradict each other. Here is the short version.
WeBOC is the customs system Pakistan has used for clearance for years. Pakistan Single Window is the newer national platform, and it connects customs, banks and the other regulatory agencies in one place. PSW has taken over most of what an importer used to do inside WeBOC, and traders working through PSW do not need to use WeBOC separately. WeBOC still exists as the customs clearance system underneath.
So if you are registering now, you register on PSW. If an older article tells you to register on WeBOC, it is describing the previous process.
The Electronic Import Form
The EIF is the piece that links your shipment to your money. It is requested electronically through your PSW profile and approved by your bank, which has to be an authorised dealer.
It matters because the Goods Declaration cannot be filed without an approved EIF attached. If your bank has not approved it, your clearance stops before it starts. It also exists so the State Bank can track foreign exchange going out against goods coming in.
Sort this out early. Waiting on a bank approval while a container accrues storage charges is an avoidable and expensive way to learn the lesson.
The Documents The Supplier Must Provide
The commercial invoice, showing a clear description, quantity, unit price, total value and the HS code. The packing list, showing how the goods are packed, with carton counts, weights and dimensions. The bill of lading for sea freight, or the air waybill for air.
And the certificate of origin. For Chinese goods this is the document that lets you claim the preferential rate under the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement. It has to be in the correct form and it has to be issued in China. Confirm at order time that your supplier can actually issue it.
Depending on the product you may also need an insurance certificate, a product certification, or an approval from a regulatory body. Food, drugs, chemicals, plants and certain electrical goods all have their own requirements.
The Goods Declaration
The GD is the formal declaration to customs of what you are importing, where it came from, how it is classified and what it is worth. It is filed through the system, normally by your clearing agent.
Customs assesses it, applies a risk profile, and either releases the cargo or selects it for examination. If the description, the code and the value all line up and the documents match the container, this is routine. If they do not, the shipment is held while it is sorted out.
Once duty and taxes are paid, the cargo is released for delivery.
Where Shipments Actually Get Stuck
Almost always one of four things. The HS code is wrong or arguable. The declared value looks low to customs for that product. The description on the invoice does not match what is physically in the container. Or a required document is missing, incomplete or in the wrong name.
All four are avoidable, and all four are cheaper to fix before the goods leave China. Ask your supplier to send you draft documents while the order is still in production, and have your clearing agent review them then. Reviewing documents after arrival means reviewing them while the meter is running.
Keep the paperwork consistent. The invoice, the packing list, the bill of lading and the physical cargo should all tell exactly the same story.
Documents Are Checked Before The Vessel Sails
Documents And Clearance
Do I register on PSW or WeBOC?
PSW. Pakistan Single Window has taken over most of what importers used to do in WeBOC, and traders on PSW do not need to use WeBOC separately. WeBOC continues to operate as the customs clearance system underneath.
What is the Electronic Import Form for?
It links your shipment to your import payment and is approved electronically by your bank. The Goods Declaration cannot be filed without an approved EIF attached, so it needs to be arranged early.
What documents does my supplier in China need to send?
At minimum a commercial invoice, a packing list, and the bill of lading or air waybill. For Chinese goods, also ask for the certificate of origin in the correct form, because that is what supports the preferential duty rate under the FTA.
Who files the Goods Declaration?
Normally your licensed clearing agent files it on your behalf. Clearance in Pakistan runs through a licensed agent in practice, and they are the ones who catch classification and documentation problems.
Why do shipments get held at customs?
Usually a wrong or arguable HS code, a declared value customs does not accept, a description that does not match the cargo, or a missing document. All of them are cheaper to fix before the goods ship.
Related Pages
We Handle This Side For You
Buying from us means the sourcing, documentation and clearance are already handled. You take delivery of goods that have been checked twice.