Daily Times

Asim Ahmed, Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), stated on Thursday that regulatory duty tax on imports of mobile phones and used cars up to 1,800cc could be reinstated at any time.

The regulatory levies on automobiles and other commodities were eliminated after the two Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs) that were used to levy taxes expired on March 31 after the Tariff Policy Board decided to prolong their validity last month.

Following the expiration of SROs, importers of used cars up to 1800cc will benefit the most, as they will receive a full exemption, while regulatory duty on mobile phones will be reduced by half.

Due to depleted dollar reserves, the government issued an embargo on the import of a variety of commodities on May 19.

The FBR chief stated that there was no need to publish a notification to re-impose the regulatory duty because imports of cars and mobile phones were now prohibited.

He stated that the decision to levy taxes was made by the Ministry of Trade, and that the FBR would issue the notification as soon as the ministry approved it.