National Board of Revenue Announces Duty Relief on Key Imports
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has reduced customs duty on potato imports to 15 percent, alongside withdrawing 3 percent regulatory duty. The existing 5 percent regulatory duty on onion imports has also been withdrawn.
This duty relief on potatoes and onions will remain in effect until November 30th.
A notice was issued by the NBR on Thursday (September 5th). The notice also reduced the customs duty on pesticide imports to 5 percent, with the withdrawal of all types of regulatory duties and VAT.
The notice stated that in July and August, student-led movements disrupted the country’s transportation system, which was still not fully recovered. Additionally, the ongoing floods in the eastern region of the country were hampering product transport. Recognizing this, key stakeholders and relevant ministries have requested the NBR to take measures to reduce the prices of essential products such as pesticides, potatoes, and onions.
In response, the NBR has decided to facilitate the import of these products through duty relief, aiming to increase supply. The customs duty on potato imports has been reduced from 25 percent to 15 percent, and the applicable 3 percent regulatory duty has been completely withdrawn. Furthermore, the 5 percent regulatory duty on onions has also been completely withdrawn.
The NBR noted that potatoes and onions meet the country’s total demand through domestic production. Reducing customs duties protects domestic production. Therefore, to encourage potato and onion farmers, this tax relief will remain in effect until November 30th.
The NBR anticipates that this initiative will maintain the market prices of these two commodities at a tolerable level.
The NBR will continue to play a key role in providing revenue support for long-term incentives for farmers to produce potatoes and onions. It will also contribute to the implementation of country-level development projects and provide necessary revenue support in any state emergency.
Source: Bartabazar/SM
