Pakistan, Aug. 12 -- Pakistan's prime minister on Tuesday ordered a nationwide audit of customs bonded warehouses as it separately prepares a new scheme allowing Gulf producers to store foreign-owned petroleum products in the country for domestic sale or re-export.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered an independent third-party audit covering three years of operations at bonded warehouses across the country, along with physical verification of stocks, according to a statement from his office.

Bonded warehouses allow imported goods to be stored without immediately paying customs duties and taxes, which generally become payable when products are released into the domestic market. The government said bonded trade currently accounts for 16...