Pursuant to this regulation, Pakistan Customs requires that valid consignee identification details be accurately declared in the Import General Manifest (IGM). To ensure compliance, customers must provide the applicable identifier to their shipping agent at the port of origin prior to vessel loading. These identifiers must also be reflected verifiably in both the Shipping Instructions and the Bill of Lading at the time of booking.
The required identification type is determined by the consignee’s legal status and cargo category, as follows:
National Tax Number (NTN) for commercial importers;
Free Tax Number (FTN) for entities granted statutory tax exemption;
Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) number for personal effects imported by Pakistani nationals;
Passport number for diplomatic or official cargo under diplomatic immunity.
Importantly, only one of the above identifiers—corresponding to the consignee’s eligibility—is required per shipment. However, it must be explicitly included in the consignee’s documentation address field within the electronic filing. For instance:
Vehicle Baggage shipments require either a valid CNIC or passport number;
General cargo shipments require either an NTN or FTN.
Shipping Instructions submitted without the correct identifier—or without specifying the applicable cargo classification prefix (e.g., “General”, “Vehicle Baggage”) in the cargo description—will be rejected during pre-booking validation.
As an interim measure pending full system integration with Pakistan’s Single Window platform, customers must manually embed the relevant identifier (NTN/FTN/CNIC/passport) in the consignee documentation address field and append the standardized cargo-type prefix to the cargo description. Upon completion of Maersk’s technical upgrades, these data elements will be captured as discrete, structured fields in the Single Window upload file—ensuring traceability, validation, and regulatory alignment.
Non-compliance may result in IGM rejection by Pakistan Customs, leading to port clearance delays, inability to discharge cargo, demurrage/detention accruals, and potential penalties. Maersk advises all stakeholders to review internal operational workflows and update documentation protocols accordingly ahead of the 15 August 2026 enforcement date.
Resource.: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/nQeK-sT-tRRsmhm-BUCX8w