ISLAMABAD: The decision to slap additional duties on non-essential imports will reduce the loss of foreign exchange while promoting local production, providing employment and generating additional revenue, the Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders said on Wednesday.

In a statement, Patron Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders Shahid Rasheed Butt lauded the government for discouraging unnecessary imports and encouraging local producers.

The decision of the government to discourage imports of needless items will reduce trade deficit which has touched alarming proportions, he said.

Say higher tariffs will reduce the trade deficit, which is hovering around $30bn

“Duties should be increased on various items to discourage pointless imports of food items and luxuries. Duty on import of fish should be revised to thirty per cent from the current 25pc,” he demanded.

He said regulatory duty on yoghurt, cheese, honey and other dairy products should also be revised upward. He said duty on import of fruits and vegetables, cornflakes, biscuits, bread, pickles, dry fruit juices, ice cream, ketchup, coffee, beverages, mineral water etc. should also be reconsidered.

The business leader said traders support the move to hike duty on cosmetics, leather items, shoes, fans, sports goods, wooden furniture, arms and ammunition and demand additional duty on hundreds of items which are being imported due to liberal import policy.

In May this year, the government has enhanced regulatory duty to a maximum of 25pc on imports of essential eatables. For curbing the rising consumption of imported fish, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) increased the regulatory duty to 25pc from existing 10pc on various kinds of fish.

In the other food items, the government also slapped a regulatory duty of 5pc on import of egg yolks (dried and other). The regulatory duty was enhanced to 20pc from 15pc on yogurt, butter, cheese and its products, natural honey, and many other dairy products. In fresh fruits, the regulatory duty was raised to 20pc from 15pc while on vegetables, the duty was further enhanced to 20pc from 15pc.

The duty was raised to 20pc from 10pc on preserves of all fruits. The duty was also raised from 15pc to 20pc on fruit juices.

In cosmetics, the duty was raised to 20pc from 15pc on perfumes, lipsticks, etc.

In electronics, the duty was raised to 20pc from 15pc on ceiling fan, pedestal fan, table fan, exhaust fan, and air conditioners.

The duty was raised to 20pc from 15pc on food grinders, fruit mixers, fruit or vegetable juice extractors, hair dryers, hand drying apparatus, electric smoothing irons, electric smoothing irons, microwave oven, electric ranges, electric roasters, coffee or tea makers, toasters, line telephone sets. The duty was raised to 20pc from 15pc on reception apparatus for receiving satellite signals of a kind used with TV (satellite dish receiver).

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2017