ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has allowed barter trade with Russia, Afghanistan and Iran. The Ministry of Commerce has issued a notification regarding the ‘Business-to-Business (B2B) Barter Trade Mechanism,’ which enables public and private entities to engage in the import and export of goods with the three countries.
According to a Special Revenue Order (SRO) issued in this regard, importers and exporters who are active taxpayers with the Federal Board of Revenue and subscribed to the Pakistan Single Window (PSW) System are eligible to participate in barter trade. The notification stated that traders or their authorized agents must submit an online application for authorization of import and export of goods under the B2B barter trade facility through the designated online system to the regulatory collector.
Under the barter trade mechanism, the principle of “import followed by export” will be employed, ensuring that the value of exported goods meets the value of imported goods. Pakistani entities can export a variety of goods to Afghanistan, Iran, and Russia, including milk, cream, eggs, cereal, meat and fish products, fruits and vegetables, rice, salt, pharmaceutical products, finished leather and leather apparel, footwear, steel, and sports goods.
From Afghanistan, Pakistan can import fruits and nuts, vegetables and pulses, spices, minerals and metals, coal and its products, raw rubber items, raw hides and skins, cotton, and iron and steel. Traders from Pakistan are allowed to import fruits, nuts, vegetables, spices, minerals and metals, coal and related products, petroleum crude oil, LNG and LPG, chemical products, fertilizers, articles of plastics and rubber, raw hides and skins, raw wool, and articles of iron and steel from Iran.
With regards to Russia, Pakistan has been granted permission to import pulses, wheat, coal and related products, petroleum oils including crude, LNG and LPG, fertilizers, tanning and dyeing extracts, articles of plastic and rubber, minerals and metals, chemical products, articles of iron and steel, and textile industrial machinery.
This move by the Pakistani government aims to foster greater economic cooperation and trade relations with Iran, Afghanistan, and Russia. The implementation of the barter trade mechanism provides an alternative avenue for conducting business and facilitates the exchange of goods between the countries involved.
