PM Shahbaz bans import of luxury, unnecessary items

By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 05 Jan 2023

Karachi: Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif Wednesday imposed a ban on the import of luxury items.

Reportedly, the decision has been taken during a high-level meeting held under the chairmanship of Shehbaz Sharif in which the economic situation of the country was reviewed. 

The ban has been imposed on unnecessary items that are not used by the general public, owing to the difference between imports and exports.  

The sources revealed that the prime minister has banned the import of luxury vehicles and other non-essential items including cosmetics. Instructions have also been issued in this regard.

According to sources in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), a proposal to increase duty on the following items has been submitted:

• Duty on cars above 1,000cc to be up by 100% and 30% ACD
• Regulatory duty on ceramics to be up by 40%
• Duty on mobile phones to rise within a range of Rs6,000 to Rs44,000 per unit
• Regulatory duty on machinery will be up by 10% and home appliances by 50%
• Power generation machinery regulations to go up by 30%
• Steel products regulatory duty to go up by 10%

In the meantime, Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) talks have started in Doha from Wednesday (today) for a week in a renewed effort to strike a staff-level agreement for the release of $1 billion tranches under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).