The Directorate General of Customs Valuation, Karachi, has revised the customs value for imported solar panels, setting it at $0.08 to $0.09 per watt, following a reassessment based on declining international market prices.
A valuation ruling addressed multiple representations from stakeholders, including the Pakistan Solar Association (PSA), which pointed out that solar panel prices had decreased significantly in global markets. The revised customs values aim to reflect these trends.
The process began with an initial meeting held on February 19, 2025, after PSA submitted a request on January 21, 2025, seeking a revision of the existing valuation ruling (No. 189412024 dated July 4, 2024). The request highlighted that the previous values were too high compared to the current market rates, causing issues for importers who faced delays in clearing goods due to discrepancies between the declared transaction values and customs values.
At the meeting, stakeholders and importers largely supported maintaining a tier-based categorisation for solar panels as previously prescribed but emphasised that the decline in global prices warranted a downward revision of customs values. They presented commercial invoices, Goods Declarations (GDs), and other documentation to support their claims. Furthermore, clearance data from the past 90 days was reviewed to inform the decision.
The valuation methods used for determining the new customs value followed those outlined in Section 25 of the Customs Act, 1969. The transaction value method was deemed inapplicable due to missing data, and while the identical goods method was explored, it could not be fully relied upon due to a lack of definitive evidence on the quantities and qualities of goods.
