Re-Export and Transshipment from Pakistan: When Imported Goods Go Back Out

By Olympic AgenciesLast updated: 12 July 2026

Quick Answer

Pakistani importers can re-export goods through three routes: customs duty drawback, where duty paid on imported goods is partially refunded on re-export; ex-bond re-export, where goods stored in a bonded warehouse are re-exported without ever paying Pakistani duty; and transshipment, where goods move through Pakistan to a third country without entering the domestic market. Each route follows a different customs procedure.

Key facts
Duty drawback	Partial refund of customs duty paid on imported goods when those goods or goods manufactured from them are re-exported — governed by the Customs Rules on drawback
Ex-bond re-export	Goods imported into a bonded warehouse and re-exported directly without entering Pakistan's domestic market pay no Pakistani customs duty
Transshipment	Goods moving through Pakistan from one country to another without entering Pakistani commerce — typically from Karachi to Afghanistan or Central Asia — under customs transit procedures
Key document	The export goods declaration filed through PSW/WeBOC, linking the re-export to the original import entry and the drawback claim where applicable
Afghan transit	The Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement governs goods transshipped through Pakistan to Afghanistan — the largest transshipment trade by volume

Importing goods into Pakistan and then sending them back out is not a border anomaly — it is a significant regional trade pattern. Afghan-bound goods transit from Karachi to Torkham. Central Asian traders buy commodities in Pakistani wholesale markets and re-export them north. Importers who stored goods in a bonded warehouse sell to a buyer in the Gulf and re-export directly from the bond. Each re-export path follows a different customs procedure, and choosing the right one determines whether the importer recovers the duty paid, avoids paying it in the first place, or moves the goods through Pakistan without ever entering the domestic tariff area.

Customs duty drawback: getting your duty back

The duty drawback scheme refunds a portion of the customs duty paid on imported goods when those goods — or goods manufactured from them — are subsequently exported. The scheme is governed by the Customs Rules and administered through WeBOC.

The drawback rate is notified by the FBR for specific goods and processes. The rate represents the portion of the duty that is refundable, and it is typically not 100 percent — a portion is retained to cover the cost of administering the scheme and to account for wastage in processing.

To claim drawback on an export consignment:

The original import goods declaration — under which duty was paid — must be identified and linked to the export declaration.
The export goods declaration must be filed through PSW/WeBOC, declaring the goods for export and claiming the drawback.
The clearing agent must attach the supporting documentation proving the link between the imported inputs and the exported goods: bills of material, production records, and inventory reconciliation.
Customs verifies the claim and, if satisfied, processes the refund.

Our duty drawback guide covers the scheme in full, including the DLTL scheme for rice and other commodity-specific rebates that operate alongside the standard drawback.

Ex-bond re-export: no duty, ever

If the goods were imported into a bonded warehouse rather than cleared for home consumption, the customs duty was deferred at the time of import. When those goods are re-exported directly from the bonded warehouse — they are removed from the bond under customs supervision, transported to the port, and loaded onto a vessel — the deferred duty is extinguished. No duty was paid at import, and no duty is payable on re-export, because the goods never entered the Pakistani domestic market.

This is the most financially efficient re-export path, and it is used extensively by importers who trade regionally: buying goods internationally, storing them in a bonded warehouse in Karachi, and selling them to buyers in the Gulf, East Africa, or Southeast Asia without the goods ever entering Pakistani commerce or paying Pakistani duty.

Our bonded warehouse guide covers the warehousing procedure, and the ex-bond re-export is one of the two outbound paths from a bond — the other being ex-bond clearance for home consumption, where duty is paid and the goods enter the domestic market.

Transshipment: through Pakistan, not into Pakistan

The Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement is the largest transshipment trade by volume. Goods bound for Afghanistan — food commodities, construction materials, machinery, consumer goods — arrive at Karachi Port, are cleared under a transit procedure, and are transported in bonded carriers under customs seal to the Afghan border. The seal is verified at Torkham or Chaman, and the goods cross into Afghanistan without paying Pakistani customs duty.

The transit procedure requires:

The supplier to consign the goods to an Afghan importer, with the bill of lading naming an Afghan destination.
The goods declaration to be filed as a transit declaration, not a home-consumption declaration.
The goods to be transported in a bonded carrier — a vehicle approved by customs for transit cargo — with a customs seal applied at the port and verified at the border.
The carrier to follow the prescribed transit route within the prescribed transit time, with deviations subject to penalty.

The transit trade is a significant logistics business at Karachi Port, and the same procedure applies to goods transshipped to Central Asian republics — Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan — through Afghanistan, though the volume is smaller.

Which re-export path applies to which situation?

Import status	Re-export path	Duty treatment
Imported for home consumption, duty paid	Duty drawback	Partial refund of duty paid
Imported into bonded warehouse, no duty paid	Ex-bond re-export	No duty payable
Transit cargo — never entered Pakistan	Transit export	No duty payable

The path is determined at the time of original import, not at the time of re-export. An importer who clears goods for home consumption and pays duty cannot later decide to treat them as ex-bond re-export — the duty has been paid and the only recovery is through the drawback scheme. An importer who anticipates the possibility of re-export should consider the bonded warehouse route from the start, because the ex-bond re-export path avoids the duty payment and refund cycle entirely.

Olympic Agencies has managed re-export procedures — drawback claims, ex-bond re-export, and transit cargo coordination — at Karachi Port and Port Qasim since 1982. Our customs clearing service in Karachi covers the full import-to-re-export chain. WhatsApp us your goods, import status, and re-export destination and we will identify the correct customs path.

Re-exporting goods from Pakistan? Let us manage the customs documentation and coordination.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get my customs duty back if I re-export goods I imported?+

Yes, through the duty drawback scheme. If you imported goods, paid customs duty, and subsequently re-export those goods — either in the same condition or after processing or manufacturing — you can claim a partial refund of the customs duty paid. The drawback rate is notified by the FBR for specific goods and processes. The claim requires linking the export goods declaration to the original import goods declaration, proving that the goods exported are the same goods that were imported, and filing the drawback claim through WeBOC. Our duty drawback guide covers the scheme in detail.

What is the transshipment procedure from Karachi to Afghanistan?+

Under the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement, goods bound for Afghanistan are cleared at Karachi Port under a transit procedure: the goods declaration identifies the cargo as Afghan transit, the goods are transported under customs seal in bonded carriers from Karachi to the Afghan border — typically Torkham or Chaman — and customs at the border verifies the seal and the manifest before the goods cross into Afghanistan. No Pakistani customs duty is payable because the goods do not enter Pakistani commerce. The procedure is well-established and handles the bulk of Afghanistan's seaborne imports.

What is the difference between drawback and ex-bond re-export?+

Drawback applies when goods were imported for home consumption — duty was paid and the goods entered the Pakistani market — and are subsequently re-exported, either in the same form or after manufacturing. The drawback refunds a portion of the duty paid. Ex-bond re-export applies when goods were imported into a bonded warehouse and never paid duty — the duty was deferred at import, and when the goods are re-exported, the deferred duty is simply extinguished, with no payment and no refund. The ex-bond path avoids the duty payment and refund cycle entirely, which is why bonded warehousing is popular with regional trading houses.

Can agricultural goods be re-exported from Pakistan?+

Yes. Agricultural commodities imported into Pakistan — pulses, spices, tea, oilseeds, fertiliser — can be re-exported to regional markets including Afghanistan, Central Asia, and the Middle East. The re-export path depends on how the goods entered Pakistan: goods that paid duty at import can claim drawback on re-export; goods stored in a bonded warehouse can be re-exported ex-bond without duty payment; and goods transshipped through Pakistan under the transit trade agreement never enter Pakistani commerce and pay no duty at all. The importer's initial customs declaration — home consumption, warehousing, or transit — determines which re-export path is available.

Olympic Agencies

Clearing agricultural cargo - seeds, fertilizers, and machinery - at Karachi Port and Port Qasim since 1982. Members of PIFFA and the Chamber of Commerce.