The federal government has made it mandatory on all importers pay dutiesand taxes exceeding Rs1 million through the e-payment system from today.

All duties and taxes over Rs1m can now only be paid through the system ofe-payment — internet/mobile banking, ATMs, over-the-counter (OTC) or anyother electronic method approved by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

According to a report by a local media outlet, the move has been made tocomply with the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) requirements and as ameasure towards digitisation and automation of the economy.

It may be noted here that traders can electronically pay all import dutiesand taxes through Customs’ computerised system WeBOC at ports and borderstations across the country.

Local media reports state that currently, 18.6pc of import duties and taxesare being collected by Pakistan Customs through the e-payment system.

According to a statement released by Pakistan Customs earlier on January10, the e-payment system decreases the workload on bank staff. Paymentsmade through Payment System (PAYSYS) are instantly communicated toelectronic systems of FBR and banks. It is very easy to use this system andgenerate various informative reports for daily branch-level operations.Payment System also provides you with electronic payment documents in hardcopy as well as an electronic copy in PDF format for subsequent utilisation.