Goods Transport to the regional countries through China Pakistan Economic Corridor to be Regulated

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has initiated the consultation process with the Planning Commission, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industries and production as well as the provincial governments for the finalisation of the mechanism and rules for the registration of national and international companies which will supply goods to regional countries under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

For the purpose, the government has started reviewing proposals and recommendations by various stakeholders to include them in the draft.

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“The mechanism and rules for the registration of national and international transport companies which will supply goods to regional countries have been sent to the provincial governments as well as the relevant stakeholders in which some stakeholders’ answers have been received while the provincial governments’ are awaited,” said Ministry of Communications Senior Joint Secretary Altaf Asghar while talking to The Express Tribune.

The joint secretary said within the next two months the mechanism and rules for the registration of transport companies which would supply goods to regional countries under the CPEC would be finalised and issued.

According to sources, for the transportation of goods from Pakistan to regional countries under the CPEC, the Ministry of Communications has prepared a draft of the mechanism and rules for the registration of national and international transport companies.

“Very soon a meeting of the relevant stakeholders will be called, which will include representatives of provinces as well as officials of the Planning Commission, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industries and Production to finalise the draft,” they added.

The sources said as per recommendations of the draft, no national or international transport company would be allowed to transport goods across the border under the CPEC without permission and enrollment by the Ministry of Communications.

They said the interested transport companies would need to file a formal application with the ministry along with supporting documents, including company registration certificate issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.

“A company must have the private limited status and a functional national tax number (NTN) as well as sales registration number. An international company must have a fleet of at least 10 vehicles, while a national company should have at least five,” they said.

“International companies must have a joint venture with a local Pakistani company with maximum permissible foreign equity of 70 per cent and at least two of its Pakistani citizens on its board of directors.”

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After initial scrutiny, the communications ministry would send the applications to the concerned security institutions.

Following the security clearance and other legal requirements, the communications ministry would enroll the transport companies under the CPEC for a period of five years.

The enrolled companies must submit an affidavit to the ministry giving assurance that they would follow all rules and regulations of the government and comply with the law of the land.

The affidavit should also state that the company would be responsible for any misinformation in the documents or any embezzlement that may result from its operations under the CPEC, be it in Pakistan or abroad.