Federal Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail on Saturday said that the government has issued the SRO needed to reverse the ban on import of luxury items, adding that the Tariff Policy Board will soon come up with new Regulatory Duty rates that will ensure Pakistan’s limited foreign exchange is spent on necessary goods.
Read more: Govt removes ban on imports but with conditions
On his twitter account, Miftah Ismail said, “in order to meet international obligations, the government issued the SRO, the goods stuck at the ports will gradually be released with penalty surcharge of up to 100 percent of assessed value.”
1) To meet with our international obligations, the government has issued an SRO to reverse the ban on imports of luxury items. The goods stuck at the ports will gradually be released with penalty surcharge of up to 100% of assessed value.
— Miftah Ismail (@MiftahIsmail) August 20, 2022
The ministry reported that on May 19, 2022, a ban on the import of around 33 classes/categories of goods encompassing more than 860 products/tariff lines was implemented, and trading partners expressed grave worry about the import ban.
Following approval from the federal cabinet, the Ministry of Commerce issued a notification in this regard. The government has permitted the release of vehicles, mobile phones, home appliances, and other commodities with a 100 percent penalty surcharge.
The notification read that other imported items were permitted with a surcharge of up to 35 percent. It said, “Items received after June 30 and before July 31 will be released with a 25% penalty cost,” it stated.”
The coalition government imposed the ban due to depleting foreign exchange and deteriorating balance of payments.
Addressing a press conference, Miftah Ismail said that the ban would go but with a price on importers as heavy duty would be imposed to make the import costly.
Miftah Ismail stated that hefty duties would be levied on the import of CBUs (Completely Built-Up Units), which include automobiles, mobile phones, and other luxury items such as shoes, meat, and purses. This would allow imports to be maintained.