KARACHI: In an effort to ease the present import crisis, the State Bank of Pakistan on Monday withdrew the requirement of prior approval of imports and instead has asked banks to priorities the import of certain essential items like food, pharmaceutical and energy.
In a statement released on Monday, the SBP said that the business community, including various trade bodies and chambers of commerce, have highlighted that a large number of shipping containers carrying imported goods are stuck at the ports, due to delays in release of shipping documents by banks.
“SBP has advised banks to provide a one-time facilitation to all those importers who could either extend their payment terms to 180 days (or beyond) or arrange funds from abroad to settle their pending import payments.
It added that until March 31, 2023, banks have been advised to process and release documents of shipments/ goods that have already arrived at a port in Pakistan or have been shipped on or before January 18, 2023.
The SBP also wants customers to inform their banks prior to the initiation of any import transaction to “avoid any complications in the future.”
The central bank’s decision comes days after businessmen flayed SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad in a town-hall meeting for letting 5,700 containers laden with food, medicine and industrial raw materials waste away at port for months on end.
Banks have been refusing to open letters of credit (LCs) for a majority of imports under explicit directives from the SBP as the country fights a serious shortage of dollars. Minimizing dollar outflows has brought a wide section of import-dependent industrial activity to a standstill across the country.
