Customs Act 1969 Proposed Amendments Federal Budget Pakistan 2023-24 Finance Bill 2023

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Customs Act 1969 Proposed Amendments Federal Budget Pakistan 2023-24 Finance Bill 2023

 

CUSTOMS ACT 1969

 

GUIDING PRINCIPLES:

  • No increase of duties on import of essential items
  • Trade facilitation and ease of doing business
  • Encourage the industrialization and investment
  • Incentives for agriculture sector
  • Promotion of Energy efficiency & Conservation
  • Promotion of Information Technology (IT) and IT enabled services

RELIEF MEASURES:

  • Exemption of Customs duties on specific papers and Art card and board for Printing of Holy
  • Incentive for Pharma sector by including one more API and 03 drugs in the existing duty free
  • Incentive for manufacturing of Solar Panels and allied equipment by exempting customs duties on import of machinery, equipment and inputs for manufacturing of solar panels, inverters and
  • Incentive for exporters of Information Technology (IT) and IT enabled services by allowing duty free import of IT related equipment equivalent to 1% value of their export
  • Reduction of Customs duties and additional Customs duties on import of intermediary/ industrial inputs falling under 10 PCT
  • Exemption of Customs duties on raw materials of Diapers, Sanitary Napkins and Adhesive
  • Concession of Customs duty on raw materials I inputs for manufacturers of
  • Reduction of Customs duty from 10% to 5% on non-localized (CKD) of Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCVs).
  • Exemption of ACD on import of raw materials of Hemodialyzers fluid I
  • Extension in exemption on machinery and equipment imported by erstwhile FATA areas till June,
  • Continuation of concession on import of Flavouring powders for food preparation for manufacturers of snacks till June,
  • Exemption of  Customs  duty  on  Organic  Composite  Solvent  and  Thinners  for manufacturers of Butyl Acetate and Dibutyl
  • Reduction of Customs duty on import of pet scrap for manufactures of polyester filament
  • Exemption of Customs duties on Raw Materials for manufacturing of Moulds and
  • Exemption of Customs duties on raw materials/ inputs for Mining
  • Exemption of Customs duties on raw materials/ inputs for Rice mill
  • Exemption of Customs duties on raw materials/ inputs for Machine
  • Alignment of  Part(V) of  Fifth Schedule to the  Customs  Act with Auto  Industry Development and Export Policy (AIDEP) 2021-26.
  • Exemption of Customs duties on import of seeds for sowing to promote growth in agricultural
  • Exemption of Customs duties on import of shrimps/prawns/juvenile for breeding in commercial fish farms and
  • Exemption of Customs duties on roasted peanuts for manufacturing of ready to use supplementary foods (RUSF) by World Food Program certified
  • Increase of Customs duty on Carbides of Calcium from 3% to 11% to protect the local

REVIEW OF REGULATORY  REGIME:

  • Removal of regulatory duty on second hand clothing to provide relief to the poor segment of the
  • Reduction of  regulatory  duty  on  151  PCT  codes  pertaining  to  second  hand clothing, fish, tiles, sports
  • Removal of  regulatory  duty on  IT related equipment  to  encourage  Information Technology
  • Removal of  Regulatory  duty  on  Synthetic   Filament  Yarn  of   Polyester  not manufactured
  • Removal of Regulatory duty on parts for flat panels, monitors,
  • Removal of Regulatory duty on Silicon Steel
  • Exemption of RD on special steel round bars and rods of non-alloy steel exceeding diameter 50
  • Increase / levy of regulatory duty on import of articles of glass to protect the local
  • To discourage the use of inefficient Tungsten Filament Incandescent Bulbs, 20% RD imposed on these bulbs and their
  • Export Regulatory Duty on the export of Molasses increased from 10% to 15%.

MISCELLANEOUS:

  • Creation of separate PCT Code for Smart
  • Creation of separate PCT Code for wooden splints for
  • Change in Description of PCT CODE 0021.
  • Change in Description of PCT CODE 6010.
  • Changes in Descriptions of PCT codes of localized auto
  • Conversion of Specific CD rate on Caustic Soda to Ad-Valorem

REVENUE  MEASURES:

  • Withdrawal of capping of the fixed duties and taxes on the import of old and used vehicles of Asian Makes above 1300 CC under SRO 577(1)/2005 by omitting serial number 4,5 and 6 of the said

LEGISLATIVE  CHANGES:

  • Definition of smuggling is being proposed to be rephrased to enable Customs to conduct anti-smuggling operations within the territorial limits of the
  • Provincial Levies and Khasadar Force have been proposed to be added in the list of Government agencies mandated to assist Customs in anti-smuggling operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and
  • Penal provisions for offence of smuggling of essential commodities are proposed to be made more
  • Penal provisions for the offence of smuggling of banned and contra-banned goods are being proposed to be made more
  • To ease out congestion at border customs stations, the mandatory time for filing of goods declaration after arrival of goods in the border customs station is proposed to be
  • In order to facilitate the trade, the warehousing period for perishable items has been proposed to be enhanced from one month to three
  • The penalty on documents not found inside the consignment
  • The pitch of penalty on documents not uploaded electronically with the goods declaration is being rationalized to facilitate
  • In order to reduce the clearance time and to eliminate human interaction, option is being provided to the respondent to go for adjudication through Customs Computerized
  • To facilitate the passengers travelling as a group who cannot file their own baggage declarations, the representative of the group of passengers is being allowed to file baggage declaration on behalf of the group
  • To check revenue loss, penal provisions for any attempt to evade duty and taxes in breach of laws and procedures are being proposed to be made more