Pakistan Single Window (PSW) Explained for Importers

What is Pakistan Single Window (PSW)?

Pakistan Single Window, usually shortened to PSW, is an online portal for cross-border trade. The PSW Act 2021 defines it as a technology based facility where people and businesses involved in trade and transport lodge standardised information and documents at a single entry point, to meet import, export and transit requirements without submitting the same data more than once.

In plain terms, an importer used to deal with customs in one system, with a regulator such as the drug authority or the standards authority in another, and with the bank on paper forms. PSW brings those into one login. You file one declaration, and the system routes the parts that matter to each agency.

You will often see the term Single Declaration, or SD. That is PSW's name for its combined goods declaration, which covers customs and any other agency that has to clear the same shipment.

Who runs PSW?

Three bodies are involved, and their names get mixed up online.

• Pakistan Customs is the notified lead agency for PSW. Customs is part of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
• Pakistan Single Window, the company, is the operating entity. It is a public sector company incorporated under section 42 of the Companies Act 2017. It builds and runs the portal and its helpdesk.
• The Governing Council oversees the project. Under section 4 of the Act it is chaired by the federal minister in charge of the division the PSW work is allocated to, which is the Revenue Division.

For a trader this means PSW is a government system, not a private service. Subscription happens on psw.gov.pk and at NADRA e-Sahulat centres, not on a third party website.

Is PSW replacing WeBOC?

WeBOC stands for Web Based One Customs. The FBR describes it as an indigenously developed, web-based computerised clearance system, built by Pakistan Customs with PRAL, the FBR's IT company. For years it has handled goods declarations, duty assessment and the green, yellow and red channel checks.

PSW does not simply switch WeBOC off. PSW's own explainer says it does not replace WeBOC but builds on it, and that WeBOC remains the customs management system that PSW connects to. In 2024 the federal government decided to move WeBOC from the FBR's IT arm into PSW as part of a restructuring.

What has changed is where traders file. PSW's WeBOC to PSW page says all the functions traders had in WeBOC are available in PSW, and that PSW is the main interface for traders. It also says that where an import needs a licence, permit or certificate from another agency, filing through the Single Declaration is mandatory. Where no such requirement applies, either system may be used.

The move has been phased by product and port. A PSW circular dated 7 April 2022, for example, moved rice exports from Karachi seaports to the Single Declaration from 12 April 2022. Later notices did the same for imports needing PSQCA standards certification and for commercial drug imports needing DRAP release, port by port. If an older guide tells you to register on WeBOC, treat it as dated. Registration now starts with a PSW subscription, and your trader profile is then linked to the customs system from inside PSW.

What can an importer do on PSW?

PSW is more than a declaration form. These are the services a commercial importer actually uses.

At the time of writing PSW says 29 banks and more than 22 other government agencies are connected. Its published roll-out notices include modules for DRAP, PSQCA, the Ministry of Narcotics Control and the Chief Inspector of Boilers, among others. Which agencies touch your shipment depends on the product's HS code, so start there. Our guide on finding the HS code for your product explains how.

Who needs to register on PSW?

You need a PSW subscription if you will file goods declarations, apply for LPCOs or receive regulatory documents in your own name. In practice that covers:

• Sole proprietors, partnerships and companies importing or exporting commercially in their own name.
• Licensed customs agents who file declarations for clients. They have their own registration route.
• Other trade users listed for customs registration, such as bonded carriers, shipping lines and warehouses.

The legal backbone is section 155B of the Customs Act 1969, which says no person shall send information to, or receive it from, the customs computerised system unless registered as a user. The PSW subscription is how that registration starts.

To subscribe you need an NTN, FTN or STRN. For an individual, the FBR uses your 13 digit CNIC as your NTN once you e-enrol on its IRIS portal. A company gets a 7 digit NTN and also needs its SECP registration number or CUIN for PSW. Most businesses that import commercially also register for sales tax, but whether you must depends on your goods and business, so confirm it with a tax adviser.

Do you need PSW to receive one parcel from China?

Usually not. If you order one item through a courier, Pakistan Post, a marketplace that ships to Pakistan, or an import service, the courier or agent that clears the shipment handles the customs side under its own registration. You are typically asked only for your CNIC and address.

Section 19C of the Customs Act, as substituted by the Finance Act 2025, also matters here. It says that where the value of goods imported through post or courier does not exceed one thousand rupees, no duties and taxes shall be demanded, subject to conditions set by the Board. Above that, duty and taxes apply and are collected through the courier or agent, not through a PSW account of yours.

There is a middle case. If you are not registered but have a shipment that needs a formal goods declaration in your name, ask a licensed customs agent what applies. Customs rules drafted in 2021, as reported at the time, allowed a licensed agent to file a one-time goods declaration for a person with a valid CNIC, with approval from an officer of at least Assistant Collector rank. Check the current rule before relying on it.

For the full path a parcel takes at the airport, see our guide to the customs clearance process for air cargo.

How do you register on PSW, step by step?

These steps follow PSW's subscription page at the time of writing. Have your CNIC, NTN, phone and email ready before you start.

1. Get your NTN first. E-enrol on FBR's IRIS portal if you have not already. Note the email address you used there, because PSW expects the email as it appears in IRIS.
2. Check your SIM. PSW verifies your mobile number for two-factor login and needs a SIM registered in your own name.
3. Start the subscription. On psw.gov.pk click Subscribe and accept the terms. Enter your NTN (or FTN or STRN), CNIC, mobile number and email. A company also enters its SECP registration number or CUIN.
4. Pay the fee. The system generates a PSID. Pay it through your bank's channels.
5. Verify by OTP. Enter the one-time passwords sent to your phone and email.
6. Do biometric verification. Visit a NADRA e-Sahulat centre in person with your CNIC, your application ID and the registered phone. Only the subscriber can do this step.
7. Create your login. PSW emails a link to set your user ID and password.
8. Register with customs. From the portal, associate your trader profile with the customs management system.
9. Link your bank. Under Registration, choose Associate New Profile in the Banks section, pick your bank and enter your IBAN with the email and mobile number your bank holds. The bank confirms the link electronically.

Once these are done you can file a Single Declaration yourself or have a licensed customs agent file for you.

How much does PSW registration cost?

PSW's subscription page states a subscription fee of Rs 500, one-time and non-refundable, paid against the PSID. Check the page before paying in case it has changed.

The user ID stays valid for two years. Renewal after that, or after deactivation, is a fresh process that includes the fee and biometric verification again. PSW says you should get at least fifteen days' notice if your ID is to be deactivated.

Other charges sit on top and are separate from the subscription:

• Declaration fees. PSW lists a 2021 notification charging a fee on every class of goods declaration. We could not read the current amount, so confirm it in the portal or with your customs agent. For exporters, PSW announced that the processing fee on export declarations returns to normal collection from 1 July 2026, after a period when the Export Development Fund reimbursed it.
• Agency fees. Agencies such as PSQCA charge their own fees for LPCOs, paid through the same PSID system.
• Duties and taxes. Customs duty and the other import taxes depend on the HS code and customs value. Our customs duty guide explains how they stack up.

How do bank payments work on PSW?

Older guides mention the Electronic Import Form (EIF), which a bank had to approve before you could file a goods declaration. PSW says it eliminated the EIF and the export equivalent, replacing them with electronic trader profiles exchanged in real time between PSW and banks.

The flow now looks like this. When you create an import declaration, you select your bank. You then associate a financial instrument that matches the payment mode, such as advance payment, a letter of credit, or a contract or collection arrangement. Open account trades need no instrument. Your bank sends the instrument details to PSW electronically, and after the goods are cleared the bank settles the instrument.

This step is enforced. In 2023 the FBR reportedly told customs not to finalise assessment of declarations that lacked a valid financial instrument, after some importers cleared goods without one.

What are the common PSW problems and mistakes?

• Email not matching IRIS. PSW checks your email against your FBR record. Update IRIS first if your old address is dead.
• SIM in someone else's name. A family member's or company SIM in another person's name will fail the mobile check.
• Fingerprints not reading at NADRA. PSW allows an undertaking through a link in the biometric email. You then get a user ID but still have to verify in person at the User ID office of your customs Collectorate.
• Letting the ID lapse. After two years renewal means the fee and biometrics again. Renew before a shipment is due, not while it sits at the port.
• Bank not linked. Without a linked bank profile you cannot attach a financial instrument, and the declaration stalls.
• Missing an LPCO. If your product needs DRAP, PSQCA or another agency's release, customs will not release it on duty payment alone. Check the HS code before you ship.
• Sharing your login. The rules bar letting anyone else use your credentials or biometric verification. Your agent should file under their own registration.
• Leaving filing to the last hour. PSW posts scheduled maintenance windows on its home page, when some services are offline.

If a shipment is already held, our guide on a parcel stuck at customs lists the usual reasons and fixes.

Where do you get help with PSW?

PSW runs a helpdesk that it says is available around the clock by phone, email and its official social media accounts. The number on its home page at the time of writing is (021) 111 111 779, and its circulars list support@psw.gov.pk. The portal also hosts user manuals for subscription, renewal, financial instruments and individual agency modules.

If you only want one item from China, none of this is needed. With our single-item service you send a product link, get one price in rupees with our fee stated upfront, pay once, and we handle the purchase, shipping and customs clearance. You never need an NTN or a PSW account. The wider picture of both routes is in our guide on how to import from China to Pakistan.

Sources

• Pakistan Single Window home page
• PSW Subscription page
• PSW: WeBOC to PSW
• Pakistan Single Window Act 2021
• PSW: Elimination of EIF and EFE
• FBR: Customs Act 1969, amended up to 30 June 2026