Duty-free imports surge 67% in four months

KARACHI: The duty-free imports have registered a growth of 67 per cent during the first four months (July-October) 2021 in the wake of a surge in the total import bill.

According to official data, the pace of clearance of duty-free imports is more than the clearance of total imports at the Customs stage.

The Customs authorities have cleared total consignments worth $25 billion during July-October of the current fiscal year, compared with $15 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, showing a growth of 65 per cent, the official data showed.

Of the total cleared imported goods, the dutiable value goods were $15 billion during the period under review, compared with $9 billion in the same period of the last year, showing a growth of 63 per cent.

Similarly, the value of duty-free imported goods registered an increase of 67 per cent to $11 billion during the first four months of the current fiscal year, compared with $6 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

The authorities have collected revenue worth Rs292 on dutiable imported goods during the first four months of the current fiscal year.

An amount of Rs573 billion was collected as the sales tax at the import stage during the first four months of the current fiscal year, compared with Rs320 billion collected in the same period of the last fiscal year, showing a growth of 79 per cent, whereas Rs88 billion was collected as withholding tax, compared with Rs62 billion collected in the previous financial year, achieving a growth of 42 per cent.

Overall, Rs962 billion as duty and taxes were collected at the import stage, compared with Rs590 billion collected in the previous financial year, showing a positive growth of 63 per cent.

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