ISLAMABAD ; The coalition government is doing fireworks to stop free fall of the rupee and mitigate its impact on the lives of the people . On one hand , its Finance minister , Miftah Ismail, and his economic team is busy in negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Doha , Qatar to secure a tranche of $ 1 billion for Pakistan under Extended Fund Facility (EFF). On the other, the coalition government has introduced a number of measures to stop import of unnecessary items like luxurious cars, chocolates , cheese , phone sets , Tyres and dozens of other items which are used by filthy rich of Pakistan just as a fun . The traders community and representatives of forex companies had suggested total bans on those items which have nothing to do with Pakistan’s industrial activities . Under the new arranged the government is going to introduce a new imports regime. Under the new measures duty on number of items have been proposed to rise. • Regulatory duty on imported tyres will be increased by 50%. •Regulatory duty on machinery will be up by 10% and home appliances 50%. Power generation machinery regulatory to go up by 30 %. Steel products regulatory duty to up by 10%. Cars above 1000cc to be up by 100% RD and 30% ACD. Regulatory duty on ceramics to be up by 40%. Duty on mobile phones will be doubled. Duty proposed on mobile phones has been Rs 6000 to 44000 per unit.
Very wise decision. Doesn’t matter if this decision is kept for 5 years at least including vehicles. Businessmen must encouraged to setup plants in Pakistan E2E