ISLAMABAD: After a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), the coalition government has decided to lift the import ban on luxury and non-essential items and increase the commission on petroleum sales by a surprising 70 per cent.
However, the automobile, cell phones and electronic items will still remain banned under the policy introduced earlier in May. Approval was also provided for wheat tenders of 200,000 tonnes, costing around $408 per tonne. Over $11 million were approved as ‘goodwill compensation’ for nine Chinese casualties in the Dasu hydropower plant.
According to the decision, the commission on high-speed diesel has been increased from Rs4.13 per litre to Rs7 per litre. Similarly, on petrol, the dealer would receive Rs7 commission instead of Rs4.90. On the other hand, the committee decided to lift the ban on luxury and import goods. But mobile devices, home appliances, automobiles, and completed built units remain on the banned items list.
The ECC has directed to clear the unbanned items that landed on the port after July 01, 2022. However, the products must clear the 25pc surcharge payment.
As for the wheat import, the tender by the Falconbridge FZ LLC has been approved by ECC as they submitted the lowest bid ( $407.49 per tonne). Fatima Fertiliser also received the green signal from ECC for domestic gas supply for the Sheikhupura plant.
