ISLAMABAD: On Wednesday, to deal with the depleting exchange reserves crisis and the falling rupee the federal government decided to impose a complete ban on the import of unnecessary and luxury items to deal with the country’s unsettling economic woes. The decision was taken during a high-level meeting held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in which the economic situation of the country was reviewed. Participants of the forum agreed to make tough decisions. “Precious foreign exchange would not be spent on import of unnecessary and luxury items,” the premier said. The business community had also urged the government to immediately put curbs on the import of luxury goods as the country is heading towards economic chaos. Worsening balance of payments position, high inflation, depleting foreign exchange reserves and political uncertainty had led the country to an alarming economic situation. According to sources in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), a proposal to increase duty on the following items has been submitted: Duty on cars above 1,000cc to be up by 100% and 30% ACD Regulatory duty on ceramics to be up by 40% Duty on mobile phones to rise within a range of Rs6,000 to Rs44,000 per unit Regulatory duty on machinery will be up by 10% and home appliances by 50% Power generation machinery regulations to go up by 30% Steel products regulatory duty to go up by 10%