ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Commerce and the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce that two entities operating under the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)—Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) and Pakistan Single Window (PSW)—were responsible for an $11 billion discrepancy in Pakistan’s import data reported last year.
According to a briefing, officials from the Ministry of Commerce explained that inconsistencies in the import data compiled by PBS, PRAL, and PSW led to the substantial difference, emphasizing that the issue was procedural and statistical rather than financial.
“The discrepancy has no impact on Pakistan’s balance of payments, as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) records only actual foreign exchange transactions through formal banking channels,” the ministry clarified. “The balance of payments is determined by verified inflows and outflows, not declaratory or customs-based data.”
PBS representatives noted that trade data had previously been sourced from PRAL for the last two years, but figures from the Export Finance Scheme (EFS) were missing, leading to inaccuracies. After transitioning to data provided by PSW, they said, no such discrepancies had been observed.
The Standing Committee chairman remarked that the issue clearly originated from inconsistencies between the two FBR-linked entities—a conclusion endorsed by both Commerce Ministry and PBS officials.
Transaction-level import data is recorded in the WEBOC system through electronic goods declarations filed by importers. PRAL compiles data from these declarations and shares it with various departments, while PSW manages newer trade facilitation systems.
The committee directed PBS to coordinate closely with PRAL and PSW to prevent such discrepancies in future reporting, underscoring that the mismatch stemmed from differences in the data maintained by the two FBR entities, whereas the SBP continues to rely on verifiable, transaction-based information.
