Islamabad: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Thursday (July 28) lifted the recently imposed ban on importing luxury and non-essential goods, news sources reported. The ban has been lifted on all goods, excluding automobiles completely built-up units (CBU), cell phones, and other electronic items.
According to reports, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail approved the removal of the ban while chairing a recent ECC meeting held in Islamabad. As per the meeting, the ban helped reduce the outflow of foreign exchange reserves by 70% – from USD 399.4 million to USD 123.9 million between May 20 and July 19. The government, however, has not lifted the ban on the largest import bill contributors, such as vehicle and mobile phone CBUs, which accounted for 79% of the overall import reduction amounting to USD 275 million. The remaining 21% cut was distributed among 810 tariff lines, impacting many sectors of the economy, including foreign investment.
Moreover, the ECC also decided that any held-up consignments (excluding those still in the prohibited category) arriving at ports after July 1 should be cleared subject to a 25% fee.
It is important to mention that the government banned the import of all non-essential goods to help bridge the current account deficit (CAD) and the balance of payment. In the latest development, the government has now decided to lift the ban, citing a decrease in industrial output due to the ban on certain industrial raw materials.
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