Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has said the purpose of recently-levied duties is to reduce the import bill, provide enabling atmosphere for competition to local manufacturers and further economic growth of the country.
FBR has maintained that during the current financial year, Pakistan has seen a surge in imports. In order to slow down the growth in the import of non-essential items or of the goods whose substitutes are locally produced, the government has imposed Regulatory Duty (RD) on such items. FBR has issued notification SRO 1035(I)/2017 dated October 16, 2017 in consultation with the Ministry of Commerce, which has imposed new RD on 26 items only (137 tariff lines) including new cars (less than 1800 cc), plastic articles, dry fruits, sun glasses, cigarette paper, tobacco, wall paper etc. Moreover, rates of RD have been increased on 21 imported items only (219 tariff lines) including betel nuts (Supari), betel leaves (Paan), cosmetics, fruit juices, tiles, footwear, tyres, handbags, tableware, kitchenware, and home appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators etc. The rates of RD range from 10pc to 30pc on different items, which are generally consumed by affluent segment of the society.
