ISLAMABAD: As the US dollar hit Rs 200 today in the inter-bank and Rs202 in open market, the government has announced ban on the import of non-essential and luxury items.
Apparently, the government remained indifferent to daily growth in the value of dollar and became active when the greenback hit Rs200 mark on Wednesday (May 18). Why the government remained inactive and kept on waiting for the dollar to breach Rs200 benchmark? The government should share this fact with the public.
The decision was taken by the PM due to the widening trade deficit and, after holding a consultative meeting with his coalition partners, it was decided that the government will take tough decisions to stabilise the economy.
The US dollar has witnessed a record surge during the past few weeks and was being traded today at over Rs200 in the open market, signalling a lack of confidence among the traders in the financial markets.
Items which will get more expensive now
According to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), a proposal to increase duty on the following items has been submitted:
- Regulatory duty on machinery will be up by 10% and home appliances by 50%
- Power generation machinery duty to go up by 30%
- Steel products regulatory duty to go up by 10%
- Duty on cars above 1,000cc to be up by 100% and 30% ACD
- Regulatory duty on ceramics to be up by 40%
- Duty on mobile phones to rise within a range of Rs6,000 to Rs44,000 per unit
