The Tariff Commission has proposed to bring down the tariff value to a reasonable level and reduce the import duty and advance tax to keep the price of dates bearable in the coming Ramadan. The commission says import duty on dates should be reduced from 25 to 15 percent and advance tax from 10 to 3 percent. Apart from this, all advance tax (5 percent) on import of dates can be waived till March 31 next year.
The Trade and Tariff Commission has recently prepared a report on the rationalization of customs duties and tariffs on date palm imports. That report made this recommendation. According to the report, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) may direct the Customs Stations to levy duties on the basis of the actual exchange rate and the latest LC value by the TCB following due process as the existing dutiable value of date palm import by the Customs Station is flawed in the executive orders of the Commission, according to the report.
If necessary, discussions can be held with relevant business organizations and partners. As per Section 7 of Chapter II of the existing Import Policy Order, the obligation to record importer's name, address and ETIN, BIN on import of packaged products applicable to dates can be relaxed.
In the financial year 2024-25, import duty (CD) of 25 percent, Musak (VAT) of 15 percent, advance income tax (AIT) of 10 percent, regulatory duty (RD) of 3 percent, advance tax (AT) of 5 percent in FY 2024-25 totaled Rs. 60 percent. The Tariff Commission feels that the high rate of advance income tax (10 percent) and advance tax (5 percent) on the import of dates is not realistic. Due to high rate of additional tax, the price of goods is increasing.
