Govt Officially Lifts Import Ban on Luxury Items

The federal government has lifted the ban on the import of luxury and non-essential items exactly three months after the restriction was imposed to correct the trade deficit and save precious foreign exchange reserves.

Addressing a press conference, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said that the federal government was lifting the import ban, which was imposed in line with the demands of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He said that the government had to impose the import ban in order to provide basic necessities to the population as the country had only a limited amount of foreign exchange.

“We had to choose between importing cars and wheat. Therefore the government had imposed a ban on the import of non-essential items,” the minister added.

Miftah Ismail added that the government was now lifting the import ban as it was a requirement of the international community. However, the government will now impose heavy regulatory duties (RDs) on these items.

The minister pointed out that heavy duties will be imposed on completely built-up (CBU) commodities such as cars, mobile phones, and electronic appliances as well as imported fish, meat, purse, and other non-luxury items.

He added that the government’s purpose was to allow these imports while complying with IMF conditions and other international agreements while keeping the current account deficit in check.

Speaking about the retail tax, Miftah Ismail said that he had taken back the tax as small shop owners were also brought under the ambit.

“Although the fixed tax will be lifted, the variable taxes — 5pc sales tax and .5pc income tax — will still be imposed on every shopkeeper for the next three months,” he added.

He added that the tax on cigarettes and tobacco will be doubled, which will bring an additional Rs. 36 billion.

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Tags: Import Ban