Govt abolishes customs, regulatory duties on 163 tariff lines

Total revenue impact of exemptions will be Rs532m per annum

ISLAMABAD: With an aim to increase exports while decreasing cost of doing business, the government has withdrawn customs’ duties, regulatory duties and additional customs’ duties on at least 163 tariff lines.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet formally approved this proposal on Wednesday, directing the Federal Board of Revenue to implement it at the earliest.

The decision was made in line with the recommendations of the National Tariff Commission, as the National Tariff Policy Board had advised the government in this regard on August 24, 2020.

The total revenue impact of the exemptions will be Rs532.875 million per annum.

According to officials of the Ministry of Commerce, the government has withdrawn cumulative 22.5pc duties — customs duty (CD), regulatory duty (RD) and additional customs duty (ACD) — on 37 tariff lines; 24pc duties on 14 tariff lines; 20pc duties on 25 tariff lines; 15pc on 16 tariff lines; 27pc on three tariff lines; 13pc on 29 tariff lines; and 5pc on 38 tariff lines.

The officials said duties were withdrawn on selected HS codes of the textile sector, including fibers, yarns and fabrics of nylon, viscose, acrylic, rayon, silk, wool and vegetable-based fibers like hemp etc.

The rationalization has been done with the objective of increasing the share of man-made fibre (MMF) for better per unit prices in the international markets, product diversification and, most importantly, value addition in the textile sector, they added.

Meanwhile, in a series of tweets, Adviser to PM on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood said that “this is in pursuance of the policy of Ministry of Commerce for cost reduction by reducing the duties, including ACDs and RDs, on raw materials as well as intermediaries”.

“This is also an essential part of promoting industrialization under ‘Make in Pakistan’, and ensuring ‘export led growth’ in the country,” he added.

The adviser said a notification will be issued after ratification by the cabinet. “This decision will enable our exporters to widen their product range, capture more of the synthetic market and improve our competitiveness.”

He said MOC will now do the same in other sectors like leather, engineering, chemicals, pharma and food etc.

Ghulam Abbas
Ghulam Abbas
The writer is a member of the staff at the Islamabad Bureau. He can be reached at [email protected]

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