ISLAMABAD: The govt took various facilitation measures to incentivize the use of technology to increase exports from the country. Through the Financial Bill 2019, the govt has decreased retention period from ten years to five years of plant, machinery, and tools brought under export facilitation plans. After this amendment, now if export-oriented units intend to dispose of their machinery prior to the period of 5 years, more option is made to pay duty and taxes against the different depreciated rates following 3 years.
This facility is also lengthy to units operating within export processing zones. Moreover, it has also been decided to revalidate the licences of export-oriented units for 2 yrs. To resolve the grievances of export processing units, production connection plan and duty and taxes remission for the export plan ( DTRE), govt has reduced 1 administrative tier in the budget 2019-20. In the production bond plan, it has been decided to revalidate the licences for 3 years. In order to redress the complaints to delay in issuance of analysis cards in production bond and export-oriented units, it has also been decided that provisional analysis cards will be granted to the applicants immediately. Moreover, if there are no changes in the input-output ratios from the existing approvals, then the already determined ratios will be accepted.
Currently, Pakistan Customs charges Rs250 as service charge against every goods declaration processed through its customs computerized system namely WeBOC under section 18D of the customs act 1969. The rate is now enhanced to Rs500. The only justification given was that it will help the upgradation and maintenance of the computerized system coverage. The govt has decreased customs duty on 66 items, which are prone to smuggling, to discourage their imports under transit trade. After the imposition of regulatory duties, many items shifted to transit trade posing more challenges to the economy.
The prominent items on which regulatory duty was reduced considerably can include sweet biscuits, waffles, and wafers; rusks, toasted bread, and similar toasted items, aerated waters, non-alcoholic beer and varnishes. Other products include which saw a decrease in regulatory duty include polyesters, dinner sets, dishes , plates , teacups and saucers , chandeliers , light fittings with fixed/fitted LED or SMD or COB ; electric table , desk , bedside or floor-standing lamps ; lighting sets of a kind used of Christmas trees , tubular daylighting device , illuminated signs , illuminated nameplates and the like , plastics , toothbrushes including dental-plate brushes . The maximum regulatory duty was 40pc on crockery which was brought down to 20pc. Similarly, the reduction was made in regulatory duties in the ranges to 5pc to 20pc depending on the things.
