How long does customs clearance take in Pakistan?

We do not give a clearance time. The stage we do not control — assessment at the Central Appraising Unit, or examination if your consignment is selected — moves at the officer's pace, not ours. Nothing sits waiting on our side once a query is answered.

What is the difference between PSW and WeBOC?

PSW is the interface a trader and an agent use to file. WeBOC is the customs system still operating underneath it. You deal with PSW; the file moves through WeBOC on the customs side.

What is faceless customs assessment?

Since December 2024, import declarations filed at Karachi are assessed by the Central Appraising Unit rather than by an officer at the collectorate where the file was lodged. The assessing officer has no direct contact with the importer or the agent.

What happens if my consignment is selected for examination?

We are at the terminal for it. An examining officer checks the goods against the declaration — count, weight, description — and the result goes back into the file before assessment is finished.

Does the process change for cargo going to Lahore?

Yes. It moves in bond under Section 121 of the Customs Act from the seaport to the Lahore dry port at Mughalpura, and is assessed there rather than at Karachi.

Can I file the Goods Declaration myself instead of using an agent?

A trader enrolled on PSW can file in their own name. What we bring is the classification, the valuation behind it, and somebody at the terminal when a consignment is examined.

What if the Central Appraising Unit raises a query on my file?

The clock on assessment stops until the query is answered. We answer it the day it lands. We cannot make the unit ask it any sooner than it does.

Guides · Process

From your supplier's invoice to your container at the gate.

Shafiq Traders · Updated 13 September 2026

Clearance runs in stages once your goods are on the water: a Goods Declaration filed on the Pakistan Single Window, assessment — at Karachi routed through the Central Appraising Unit under Faceless Customs Assessment — payment of duty and tax, examination if the system selects your consignment, and an out of charge order before the container leaves the terminal. Cargo bound up-country adds one stage, moving in bond to the Lahore dry port under Section 121 before it is assessed there. We handle every stage in that order. Nothing skips or compresses because we ask.

The shape of the file, before the ship arrives

A clearance starts the day your supplier issues the invoice and packing list, not the day the vessel berths. We use that window to work out the HS code and the value, so the Goods Declaration is ready to file the moment the ship reports.

The declaration itself goes in on the Pakistan Single Window. WeBOC is still the system running underneath it, but PSW is the interface the trader and the agent both use, and it is where the file actually lives.

The stages, in order

Every import goes through these in sequence. Where the delay shows up changes; the order does not.

Classification and valuation

We work out the HS code and the value against the invoice, before the vessel arrives if the documents are already in hand.

Manifest and berthing

The carrier files the Import General Manifest and the vessel berths at Karachi Port or Port Qasim, or the cargo is discharged at the airport.

Goods Declaration filed

We file the GD on the Pakistan Single Window under Section 79, declaring the goods, the value and the duty and tax due.

Assessment

At Karachi the declaration goes to the Central Appraising Unit at SAPT under Faceless Customs Assessment. The officer assessing it has no direct contact with us.

Duty and tax paid

We generate the challan against the assessed declaration and put the payment through.

Examination, if selected

If the system routes the consignment for examination, we are at the terminal for it — count, weight and description checked against the packing list.

Out of charge

Once assessment and any examination are cleared, the collectorate issues the out of charge order releasing the goods.

Gate-out and delivery

The container leaves the terminal. Cargo bound for Lahore moves in bond under Section 121 to Mughalpura before it is delivered.

Where a declaration actually loses time

Stall points seen across declarations we have filed. Faceless assessment routing to the Central Appraising Unit confirmed against FBR's notice, effective 15 December 2024 at Karachi. Checked September 2026.
Stage	What holds it up
Filing	A bank account not yet declared against the letter of credit, or PSW enrolment not finished
Assessment	A query the Central Appraising Unit raises against the declared value — the clock stops until it is answered
Examination	A weight or count at the terminal that does not match the packing list
Payment	A challan raised against the wrong account, which has to be corrected before it clears
Gate-out	Terminal charges accruing while any of the above sits open

Once a declaration reaches the Central Appraising Unit, we cannot ring anyone to move it along. Faceless assessment means the officer working your file has no contact with us, and that is by design. What we can do is answer whatever query comes back the same day it lands, not decide when it lands.

What changes for Lahore, and for air cargo

Cargo consigned up-country does not clear at the seaport. It moves in bond under Section 121 of the Customs Act to the Lahore dry port at Mughalpura, and assessment happens there, not at Karachi Port or Port Qasim.

Air cargo through Karachi airport follows the same stages — declaration, assessment, payment, examination if selected — on a tighter physical footprint, with the file still filed on PSW.

Filed under this exact sequence

Every company on our register has moved through these same stages — filing, assessment, payment, examination where it was selected, and release. These are some of them.