Govt decides to impose blanket ban on import of luxury items

ISLAMABAD: To deal with the country’s troubling economic issues, the incumbent government on Wednesday decided to impose a blanket ban on the import of superfluous and expensive commodities.

The decision was made during a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during which the country’s economic situation was assessed.

“Precious foreign cash will not be spent on frivolous and luxurious imports,” the prime minister stated.

The forum’s participants resolved to take difficult steps to address the depleting exchange reserves situation and the sinking rupee, which hit roughly Rs200 in the interbank market on Wednesday.

The business community has also pushed the government to immediately impose import restrictions on luxury items, citing the country’s impending economic collapse.

Read more: Where Pakistan’s economy is heading?

On the one hand, the country is facing the problem of the stabilization of foreign exchange reserves.

The government has decided to take important steps to control the deteriorating economic situation in the country. In this regard, the government has also proposed to increase the duty on imported goods, including imported tires, machinery, power generation machinery, and steel.

Similarly, 100% regulatory duty on vehicles above 1000 cc, 40% increase in regulatory duty on imported tiles, and a doubling of duty on mobile phones have been proposed.