QUETTA: The Federal Ministry of Commerce has exempted 57 items from the requirement of a Certificate of Origin (COO) for trade with Iran, a move hailed by the business community as a major step forward in strengthening bilateral trade.
The decision was announced during a Zoom meeting between the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) and the private sector, chaired by Customs Policy Member Ashhad Jawad and attended by Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI) President Muhammad Ayub Mariani, Customs Chief Irfan Javed, Customs Collector Jameel Baloch, Representative of the State Bank Muhammad Yasir, the official of the Ministry of Commerce Zubair. Khan and other interested parties.
The meeting focused on addressing long-standing obstacles in trade between Pakistan and Iran, particularly issues related to Electronic Import Form (EIF) and COO.
On the occasion, Ashhad Jawad said that the government was taking all possible measures to promote legal and formal trade with Iran, and the exemption of 57 items from the COO requirement was an important part of this effort. He stressed that promoting legal trade was vital to the country’s economic prosperity.
He appreciated the active role of the QCCI and expressed confidence that the new policy would significantly improve trade relations between Pakistan and Iran.
The QCCI president welcomed the federal government’s decision and said the chamber had consistently raised concerns about mandatory EIF and COO requirements on behalf of the province’s traders.
Mariani urged local merchants to take advantage of the new facilities and expand trade with Iran. It also revealed that the QCCI had submitted a second list of 37 additional items to the concerned authorities, recommending their exemption from the COO requirement. “We hope that the second list will also be approved soon.”
Published in Dawn, October 18, 2025
