Pakistan lifts ban on import of non-essential, luxury items

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government has decided to lift a recently imposed ban on the import of non-essential and luxury items to control the cashstrapped country's depleting foreign reserves, according to media reports on Friday.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet presided over by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail in its meeting on Thursday also allowed importing 200,000 metric tonnes of wheat worth USD 85 million at USD 407.5 per tonne.

On May 19, Pakistan slapped a ban on import of 33 categories of goods, covering more than 860 product lines.

The import restrictions were introduced after the new government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif which assumed office in April, came under pressure to take measures to avoid default on external liabilities.

However, the decision was criticised by importers and the powerful elite the main beneficiary and consumer of such goods. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet presided over by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail in its meeting on Thursday decided to remove the ban on non-essential and luxury items excluding automobiles, cell phones and electronics, the Dawn newspaper reported.

The ECC also lifted the ban on imported goods except for completed built units (CBUs) of automobiles, mobile phones and home appliances.

The meeting was told the ban had helped cut the imports of banned items, which shrank by around 70 per cent from USD 399.4 million to USD 123.9 million between May 20 and July 19.

The major contributors to this reduction of about USD 275 m were automobile and mobile phone CBUs, which had a share of 79 per cent in the total import reduction, the report said.

The remaining 21 per cent reduction was spread over 810 tariff lines impacting multiple sectors of the economy, including foreign investments.