Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali advocated for rationalising the minimum value requirements for imports of specific goods, such as cotton and synthetic fabrics and to impose duties to protect the local economy.
In his proposed fiscal year 2024–2025 budget, the Minister of Finance recommended raising the minimum import value of cotton textiles and printed cotton from US $ 3 to US $ 4 per kilogram. Additionally, he suggested raising the minimum price of synthetic materials from US $ 3 to US $ 4.50 per kilogram.
The Finance Minister also suggested levying a 1 per cent customs fee on purified terephthalic acid and mono-ethylene glycol, which are used as the raw materials for polyester (synthetic) staple fibre and pet chips in the textile industry, while waiving all other taxes and levies.
The Minister in his budget speech said that it was observed that the total tax incidence on the finished goods was less than its raw materials.
‘To remove this discrepancy and for the protection of the domestic industry, I propose to impose 1 per cent customs duty on PTA and MEG and waive all other duties and taxes on these two raw materials,’ Mahmood said.
The Finance Minister additionally proposed eliminating all other taxes, except advance income tax and a 5 per cent customs levy on chillers imported with a capacity of 50 tonnes or more.
According to him, chillers are vital pieces of capital equipment utilised in a variety of businesses, and their import is subject to a total duty of 104.68 per cent, which is detrimental to the industries that employ them.
