Azhar Malik

Pakistan Single Window (PSW) and the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) have joined hands to further expand their partnership for trade facilitation through the integration of cross-border business processes. According to a document available with WealthPK, the integration of DRAP systems under the PSW would provide facilities of electronic submission, processing and issuance of licences, imported products including drugs, medical devices, health and over-the-counter products.

The initiative would also help in getting no-objection certificate (NOC) and other certificates as prescribed for specified products falling under DRAP’s regulatory jurisdiction. Speaking at the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding (MoU), DRAP Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Asim Rauf said the authority was mandated for effective coordination and enforcement of the Drugs Act, 1976 to regulate the manufacturing, import, export, storage, distribution and sale of therapeutic goods in the country.

“Integration with the PSW system will provide DRAP to get better visibility of all import and export transactions and help improve its control measures,” he said, adding that it will help in facilitating trade through the implementation of the Integrated Risk Management System (IRMS), digital payments and electronic integration with laboratories and other relevant service providers.

“The system will also provide an interface for the electronic receipt of commercial documents attested by Pakistani missions abroad to mitigate fraud risks and save time as well as the cost of doing business,” he said, adding that the PSW allows parties involved in trade and transport to lodge standardised information and documents with a single-entry point to fulfil all import, export and transit-related regulatory requirements.

The PSW CEO Syed Aftab Haider said that the pharmaceutical industry has been identified as a priority sector by the government due to its size and contribution to the national economy and its potential for exports. He said integration with the PSW system will help the pharmaceutical industry to reduce its time and cost of trading across borders by adopting best practices in customs and regulatory clearances centred around technology and digitisation of procedures and information requirements.

“The agreement would also help the stakeholders in the clearance of pharmaceutical raw material, products and devices for imports and exports,” he said, adding that under the initiative, extensive business process reengineering of DRAP’s cross-border trade has been carried out, resulting in the redesign of 31 processes and the digitisation of 56 paper-based documents. He further informed that the system will create an enabling environment for further digitisation of DRAP’s back-end processes.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk