The National Board of Revenue on Thursday reduced customs duties on import of onions, potatoes and pesticides to stabilise the supply of the essential commodities.聽
鈥楾ransportation of commodities is facing difficulties amid the current situation. Important stakeholders and the concerned ministry have requested the National Board of Revenue to take measures to reduce the prices of essential commodities like potatoes, onions, and pesticides,鈥� according to a statement issued by the NBR on the day.聽
The NBR took initiative to reduce the prices of the commodities mentioned above and issued a statutory regulatory order.
The NBR has reduced the overall customs duty on potatoes by 10 per cent from the existing 25 per cent import duty.
Importers will now have to pay a total of 15 per cent import duty and 3 per cent regulatory duty, along with a 5 per cent advance income tax.
The 5 per cent regulatory duty on onions was completely removed, according to the statement.
Importers will now have to pay only a 5 per cent customs duty on onions.
For pesticides, the customs duty was reduced to 5 per cent from the existing 25 per cent.
As bulk of the country鈥檚 total demand is met with the domestically produced potatoes and onions, and lower import duties reduce protection imposed on domestic producers, so to encourage farmers to produce potatoes and onions, the said duty exemption was extended for a temporary period up to November 30, the statement further said.
