Pakistan's Imports Likely to Rise As Duty Withdrawal Proposed

Pakistan's imports are likely to grow by $1.4 billion in the next fiscal on account of a proposed withdrawal of regulatory duty on 379 items in the budget for 2011/2012, official sources said.

The government imposed a 15 percent regulatory duty on these items in the last budget to discourage their imports and save foreign exchange. The duty withdrawal is likely to result in the revenue loss of $150 million in rupees equivalent, they added.

Officials preparing budget have been asked by the Planning Division to withdraw this duty.

Sources told The News that the government has decided to withdraw the regulatory duty on these items because of the relatively improved foreign exchange position and the pressure on government to avoid duties to discourage imports.

It has also been proposed to bring import duty down to a maximum of 10 percent.

Last year, State Bank of Pakistan had also made it mandatory that advance payment in full should be obtained from importers. The SBP had withdrawn the facility for importers to pay 10-30 percent of the price of imports.

The items on which regulatory duty has been proposed to be eliminated including yogurt, butter dairy spreads, cheese, curd, grated or powdered cheese of all kinds, processed cheese, not grated or powdered, natural honey, betel nuts, figs, apricots, prunes, appease, cherries, pine nut (chilgoza), peaches (arroo), plums (allocha), lichis, raisins, mixtures of nuts or dried fruit, peel of citrus fruit or melons (including watermelons) fresh, frozen, dried or preserved, wash basin, bath tubs ceramic, ceramic, Cisterns, sink ceramic, toilet ceramic, urinals ceramic, water loser pans, dinner sets, dishes plates, tea cups and saucers, tableware and kitchenware, cooking ranges, for liquid fuel, for gas fuel or for both gas and other fuels, for liquid fuel, parts, pad locks, ceiling fan, pineapples, avocados, guavas, mangoes, mangosteens; frozen mango, mango pulp, oranges, kino (fresh), grapefruit, including pomelos,lemons (citrus lemon, citrus limonum) and limes (citrus aurantifolia, citrus latifolia), fresh dried, watermelons, papaws (papayas), apples, pears and quinces, apricots, cherries, peaches, including nectarines, plums and sloes, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, mulberries and loganberries, cranberries, bilberries and other fruits of the genus vaccinium, kiwifruit, durians, pomegranates, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, mulberries, loganberries, black, white or red currants and gooseberries and cherries.