FBR levies 20% customs duty on imported multivitamins, natural health products

Customs Classification Committee decides against reduced duty rate, citing classification under food supplement category

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)’S Customs Classification Committee announced on Wednesday a new customs duty rate of 20% on the importation of multivitamins, natural health products, and food supplements.

This decision came after deliberations over the appropriate classification of these items within the Pakistan Customs Tariff (PCT) codes, concluding a debate on whether a lower duty rate of 11% was applicable.

The importer’s argument for a reduced duty rate, citing these products as Natural Health Products as per the definitions provided by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), was rejected.

The committee clarified that these imports would be subjected to a higher duty rate, aligning with the categorization under PCT heading 2106.9090, which encompasses food, dietary supplements, and contradicts the importer’s classification under PCT heading 3004.5090, generally reserved for products with therapeutic or prophylactic uses.

The issue came to light following an inspection by the Collectorate of Customs at Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, of consignments imported by M/s Base6 (Pvt) Ltd. The importer initially declared the goods under a classification expected to attract an 11% duty rate, supporting their stance with a clearance certificate from DRAP.

However, the Customs Appraisement group contested this, arguing the products’ nature as food supplements with nutritional value necessitates classification under a category attracting a 20% duty.

The Customs Classification Committee’s review included an examination of the products’ composition and intended use, leading to the conclusion that they did not meet the criteria for the lower duty rate category.

The final ruling stated that the goods are indeed intended to supplement general wellbeing rather than for specific therapeutic or prophylactic purposes, thus meriting classification under the higher duty category.