By Mushtaq Ghumman

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Cabinet which is scheduled to meet on Tuesday (today) with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair will approve rationalization of duties on import of vehicles and other items, recommended by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC).

On January 5, 2022, Ministry of Commerce briefed the ECC about the changes regarding imposition/ removal of Regulatory Duties (RD) on different items, in line with the decisions of the Tariff Policy Board (TPB) taken in its 34th and 35th meeting.

Well informed sources told Business Recorder that after detailed discussion, the ECC approved imposition of 10% Regulatory Duty (instead of 27%) on import of Electrical Vehicles (EVs) in CBU condition of more than 50 KWH battery pack excluding commercial buses and trucks.

Other decisions were as follows: (i) increased Regulatory Duty from 15% to 50% on import of all type of hybrid vehicles in CBU condition, exceeding 1500cc but not exceeding 1800cc;(iii) increased Regulatory Duty from 15% to 50% on import of vehicles having spark/ compression engine (conventional engines) in CBU condition exceeding 850cc but not exceeding 1800cc; (iii) levied 10% Regulatory Duty on textile material polypropylene under HS Codes 5402.4800, 5402.5300, 5402.6300, 5404.1200, 5503.4000 and 5506.4000 to address the tariff anomaly; (iv) removed 5% Regulatory Duty on varnishes (HS Code 3208.2010), being raw material/ used in making of furniture and;(v) levied 20% Regulatory Duty on import of Soda Ash (HS Code 2836.2000) for the period of six months.

The decisions regarding auto sector shall be implemented for six months (up to June 30, 2022) and shall be reviewed before budget for the next financial year.

The Cabinet will also discuss political, economic and EVMs related issues in addition to Murree incident which claimed 23 lives. Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar, will brief the Cabinet about Covid-19 and Omicron.

Other items of agenda are as follows: (i) appointment of Chairman and Members of Copyright Board of Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan (IPO-P) ;(ii) ex-post facto approval for acceptance of award “Noot-ul-Tamreen Medals” by 100 personnel of PAF by Saudi Arabia;(iii) residential project for Overseas Pakistanis at Park Road Zone-4 Islamabad under Roshan Digital Account incentives;(iv) registration of existing Credit Guarantee Trust under Islamabad Capital Territory Trust Act, 2020;(v) approval of CDA budget estimates 2021-22 and revised estimates for the financial year 202021;(vi) extension in contract of Raza Abbas Shah, CEO, EDB;(vii) tariff rationalization for power sector- quarterly tariff adjustment for 4th quarter for FY 2020-21;(viii) regularization of non-customs paid vehicles plying in ex-FATA/ PATA via one-time concession in duties/ taxes;(ix) approval of draft interfaith harmony policy;(x) appointment as member National Commission for Minorities (NCM) from Christian community;(xi) Science, Technology and innovation Policy-2021;(xii) appointment of Federal Government analyst (Narcotics);(xiii) appointment of Chairman of PTDC Board of Directors (BoDs) and National Tourism Coordination Board (NTCB);( xiv) ratification of decision taken by the Cabinet Committee on Institutional Reforms (CCIR) in its meeting held on December 22, 2021; and (xv) ratification of ECC decisions take on December 31, 2021 and January 5, 2022.

This article first appeared in Business Recorder on Jan 11, 2022