New Government plan on imports these days

New Government plan on imports these days
  • In today’s blog, we will discuss important and trending topics such as Pakistan import Policy 2022 and recently Pak VS Qatar import trading news that has the potential to play an important part in improving the economic health of Pakistan.

    Before we get into the trending topics of 2022, let’s look at the list of major imports of Pakistan in 2021.

    Pakistan has an agreement with multiple countries to promote trade and commerce by eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs, imported quotes, and export restrictions to boost investments and trade. It is also a member of the World Trade Organization and China- Pakistan Free Trade Agreement.

    The following are major imports of Pakistan 2021

    •   Mineral fuels

    With a population of 220 million, it comes as no surprise that the main imports of Pakistan are mineral fuels and oils. With infrastructure and development spread throughout the country, and over 10 million vehicles on the road, mineral fuels and oils are certainly one of the top imports for the country.

    • Electric Machinery

    In this modern era, it is quite expected to have ample electronics and electrical equipment as a must-have for any country. Currently, electrical equipment is one of the major imports of Pakistan, amounting to 8.2 percent of the total imports.

    • Pharmaceuticals

    The pharmaceutical market in Pakistan is one of the largest in the world, mostly owing to the country’s massive population. Since local production of medicine is quite rare, the country is forced to import a large supply of its pharmaceuticals

    • Iron and Steel

    Iron and steel are other major imports of Pakistan that are a massive part of the construction industry. Being the backbone of all infrastructure, these imports are essential for the development of the country

    Import plays an important role in filling the gap between the resources, the demand of the individuals, and the economic sector of Pakistan. However, the country needs a desperate rise in the number of exports in order to stabilize its economic growth.

    Due to this, a ban was imposed on imported products. On May 18 Finance minister Miftah Ismail set up a meeting to review options made by the ministry of commerce and the federal board of revenue (FBR) to reduce the transactions of import bills in the country.

    The minister suggested increasing the percentage of regularity duties in order to bring imports closer by 1 billion. However, the plan was dependent on the approval of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. Meanwhile, Pakistan was looking forward to IMF’s loan approval, in hopes the loan would ease the supply of money throughout the country. A lot of consumer goods witness a rise in their import costs.

    All types of home appliances, power generation machinery, steel products, ceramics, and mobile phones were a few of the consumer products. The officials tried to arrange a policy response to balance out the payment crisis by eliminating energy, food, and export-oriented sectors to avoid any argumentative impact. The finance minister tried proposing a reduction in duties on selected items and to revise the plan after sharing it with the prime minister. This meeting took place a few hours before the Pakistan delegation left for Doha.

    The position of Pakistan in the Forex has been unstable due to indecisiveness resulting in the devaluation of the rupee. The struggling rupee fell to the dollar, making an increase in the demand for the green color bill by the rising number of imports.

    The verdict of this meeting led to banning the import of more than 80 % of consumer goals made by departmental stores. However, in the board meeting on August 29, the IMF asked to lift the ban on imported goods to which the Finance Minister had to surrender to the financial institution as Pakistan was desperate for the loan.

    Although Pakistan import policy 2022 included removal of the ban on imported items the Finance Minister also included that regulatory duties will be charged on non-essential imported products. He also added that the purpose of applying import duties is not meant to be treated as additional revenue. With the removal of the ban on imports, recently Pak VS Qatar import trading news has gone viral all over social media when Qatar Investment Authority revealed its aim to invest 3 billion in various commercial investment sectors in Pakistan.

    The announcement was made after Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif paid a visit to Qatar in order to hold a meeting with Qatari Emir Shaikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani. The Qatari leader emphasized the essential and brotherly bond between the two countries. He expressed his sincere intentions to enhance economically by raising trade exchange and promising investments. He also proudly shared that he has plans to invest in airports, seaport terminals, and solar energy shares in the stock market. A high-ranking official who was present in the current meeting reassured us that Qatar has shown true intentions to capitalize on Pakistan by boosting its revenue.

    Why SRO Culture is Harmful to Pakistan

    For many out there who don’t know what statutory regulatory order is let me give you a quick definition of the term. Basically, it refers to all types of government guidelines carried out by FBR and different ministers through delegated power.

    These include the health sector, taxes, commerce, energy, etc.

    The culture of statutory regulatory order is deeply rooted in the country’s tax administration because of excessive misuse of power by parliament through laws to the tax establishments. By description, the method should be used in managing rules and procedures for applying a tax law as it may remove a hardship involving a new waiver or concessions.

    However, according to Pakistan’s way of functioning, the Federal Board of Revenue has been given legal power by allowing unlimited tax concessions, waivers, and exemptions without parliamentary approval.

    What Role does IMF play in Pakistan’s Economy?

    With our rupee struggling in front of the super powerful dollar, the country has no option but to follow strict policies of the IMF (International Monetary Funds) that includes measures to reduce the borrowing needs of the unstable government and bring inflation rates down to the more justifiable level.

    Apart from these policies, they aim to strengthen and improve the quality of the struggling government.

    They require Pakistan’s government to respect these rules in order to keep the program on track. The financial institution is most likely to bring change in the exchange rate instability of the country. The lack of exports, low levels of trade, and local businesses being unable to compete with the global market reduce the ability to achieve much-needed dollars in the country, which forces our government to rely on loads from the IMF.

    The Ending Point

    Misuse of SRO in the imports section also plays a major role in the drawback of our country’s state in today’s time.  One can hope that the latest policy of Pakistan imports and an investment worth 3 billion from Qatar can stabilize the economic condition of our country.

    However, the ban lifted from imported items may bring stability to the income of the hard-working citizens of the country. It may also bring a new range of products to the market, which will be a plus among the consumers.

    With the IMF granting the loan to Pakistan, we can hope the country will soon achieve a stable ground financially and have an easy supply of money within the country. Phew, so this is it, folks. I hope you enjoyed the blog and learned some more economic-based terms and strategies just like me. I think I can label myself as an economist now.

    What do you think?

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