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Pakistan has imposed a 10 per cent regulatory duty on the import of petroleum products from China, according to media reports.
This comes after a massive 673 per cent surge in duty-free imports to Pakistani rupees 250 billion this year with a revenue loss of PKR 25 billion under the garb of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA). The decision was taken at a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet which also approved almost PKR 147 billion worth of supplementary grants including PKR 81 billion additional funds to defense services for expenditure before June 30, Dawn newspaper reported. Under Pakistan's import policy, petroleum products attract 10 per cent customs duty on imports while an equivalent 10 per cent deemed duty is applicable on local production of these products by domestic refineries. However, the CPFTA signed in 2019 provides duty exemption to thousands of items in bilateral trade also including petroleum products. It is to be noted that the Pakistan government has increased petroleum prices recently. The new petrol price, after the recent hike, will be Rs 179.86 per litre, high-speed diesel will be available for Rs 174.15 per litre, kerosene oil will be priced at Rs 155.56 per litre, and the rates of light diesel will be that of Rs 148.31 per litre, reported Ary News. The government's decision to raise fuel prices will remove a major obstacle in the way of concluding a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund(IMF). This price hike came after talks between the Pakistan government and IMF in Doha. These discussions were aimed at reaching an agreement on policies at the conclusion of the IMF's seventh review of its USD 6 billion programmes for Pakistan, which has been stalled since early April. (ANI)
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