Courier and cargo prices in Pakistan are expected to rise after new Regulations
Pakistan is one of those countries where hundreds of companies are working without any regulatory authorities. Even if there is any, they are not working according to the rules. Same is happening in the case of Pakistan’s Courier and logistics industry. Now finally Govt. has decided to make a regulatory plan for the hundreds of unregulated cargo and courier businesses in Pakistan.
These regulations will regulate the private companies dealing in cargo and couriers and door to door deliveries in Pakistan. At the moment there isn’t any regulatory framework available in Pakistan.
Why new regulatory framework?
In the absence of any regulatory mechanism, logistics industry is subjected to volatile conditions and government authorities are raising questions in the National Assembly and Senate of Pakistan. As government has explained the opposition that there isn’t any data available about the agencies or companies working in Pakistan to deliver couriers and cargo in Pakistan. There are hundreds of companies who are offering cargo and courier services all over the country and according to security agencies; it is one of the biggest security risk to lead the cargo operations without any record with the government of Pakistan.
What kind of regulations will be there?
Government is looking to introduce the regulatory mechanism by introducing fix license fees and renewal programs, reasonable revenue will be collected by the government and it will also help the government to collect the data of logistic companies and cargo agencies.
There are several transport companies who are involved in offering the various kind cargo delivery services in Pakistan. The new regulations are required to regulate the logistic services and required to offer a level playing field for all operators.
These regulations are also necessary in order to protect the customer interests and the interests of the government when there are several international players like DHL Express, FedEx Express, TNT courier and TCS couriers working in the country.
The Regulatory Bill for Courier and logistic operators
The PPCSRA Bill or Pakistan Courier Services Regulatory Authority Bill was logged by a member of national Assembly. Currently the bill is under the consideration of committee on communication. An early draft presented by the Communication Ministry, proposed the following areas to be regulated.
Formation of Authority, where the Secretary of Communication Ministry would be the Chairman of the authority. There will be seven members in the Authority where three members will be selected from the private sector and four members will be from federal government.
There will be two meetings every year and all the powers and functions will be explained accordingly. The authority will have the powers to issue, renew or revoke the licenses of the logistic companies.
They can also impose a fine of more than 1 million rupees to the company on any misconduct. Currently there aren’t any SOPs available to regulate the logistics companies. However the government has now held themselves responsible to develop the new regulations. The subcommittee of the national assembly submitted their recommendations on the bill.
