Pakistan’s first Common Bonded Warehouse (CBW) to be set up by Elite Services System (ESS), a customs clearing services organization in collaboration with American and Efrid Lanks (A&E Lanka) the world’s second largest apparel thread manufacturer.

The ESS Chief Executive Saad Mukhtar Siddiqui said that the CBW would give small and medium enterprises (SMEs) access to quality raw materials for export. The ESS by setting up this facility was bringing foreign investment of over a million dollars in collaboration with its foreign partner to boost Pakistan’s textile exports. ESS has already applied for the CBW license from Pakistan Customs.

He said that A&E Lanka was a global thread supplier with manufacturing facilities in 23 countries. It had sales and distribution networks in over 100 countries. The company had already built a state-of-the-art warehouse at the industrial hub on Ferozpur Road.

After getting approval from Pakistan Customs, the company would supply foreign manufactured raw materials to all export oriented SMEs and direct/indirect export manufacturers who were currently relying on sub-standard or low quality raw materials.

Right now only big manufacturers, who had the capacity to import or hold millions of dollars raw material inventory enjoyed this facility, Siddiqui said.

Under Pakistan Customs SRO 450 (I) 2001, the law had provision to establish common bonded warehouses and it was the need of the hour to boost the export potential of small and medium enterprises.

The license would be issued for a period of three years and the same should stand revalidated for a further period of up to three years (before every expiry date) by the collector if satisfied that no action under the acts was pending against the licensee.

Small exporters would have access to thread, yarn, fabric, leather, and artificial leather without payment of duty / taxes meant for supplying to small and medium enterprises having export quantum up to $2.5 million per annum and direct / indirect exporter for manufacturing and subsequent export of finished goods made there from.

The facility will provide the opportunity to all sorts of textile industries to produce quality goods and earn foreign exchange for the country.