The government on Wednesday issued a notification to allow private sector to import duty and tax-free soft and medium hard white wheat as a follow up of the federal cabinet's earlier decision aimed at reducing the price of the commodity.
According to the notification, a copy of which was provided to Business Recorder, the government had abolished 10 percent duty and 6 percent withholding tax on wheat import for private sector.
Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) Secretary Ismail Qureshi said that the private sector would be bound to follow the criterion, which the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) had been following in the past.
All the intending importers, according to the notification, would have to inform the TCP at least three weeks in advance about the origin from where wheat was to be imported, its quantity and tentative dates of dispatch from the port and arrival in Pakistan.
According to the notification, the government experts would conduct a pre-shipment quality test of the commodity at the place from where it was being loaded.
The importers would also have to inform the government about the acceptance of deputation of team of designated officers of the Minfal to the port of loading for the purposes of inspection and overseeing the requirements, it said.
The importer would have to ensure that the specifications were fully met so as to enable the importers to get duty exemption as per the government's rule, the notification added.
Before the import permit was issued, the importer/buyer would give undertaking/declaration to the effect that all the conditions as laid down were met, the notification added.
THE SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE IMPORTED COMMODITY ARE GIVEN IN THE FOLLOWING TABLE:
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Sr. No COMMODITY & SPECTIFICATIONS
1. Soft White or Medium Hard White Wheat US
Grade-2 or better/Australian White
Milling Wheat/Canadian Wheat Board
Western Canadian Chappati Wheat/Russian/
or Central Asian Republic Milling Wheat
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FACTOR STANDARD
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2. Test Weight 78kg/HI Min. (75 Kg/III Min. for
Australia/Canada)
3. Shrunken, broken 5% Ma. (including heat & sprout
and shrivelled kernels, damaged 0.5% Max)
heat & sprout damaged 7% Max. for Canada, (including heat &
and insect & fungus sprout damaged 0.5% Max)
damaged grains. -
4. Moisture content 12% Ma. (14.5% Max. for Canada,
13-13.5% for Russia)
5. Foreign Matter 1% Max. (Inorganic not exceeding 0.1 %)
2.5% Max. for Canada, 2% Max. for
Russia (Inorganic not exceeding 0.1%)
6. Wet Gluten (Whole 23% Min. (27% Min. for Canada). 22%
Meal Flour) Min. for Russia.
7. Dockage total deductible 0.5% Max. (1.5% Max. for Australia)
8. Protein (Whole 10% Min. (11% Min. for Canada)
Meal Flour) -
9. Falling Number 250% per sec. Min.
(Whole Meal Flour) -
10. Colour Original colour, shape & texture
11. Mycotoxins Aflatoxin less than 30 ppb Ochratoxine
less than 25 ppb Zearalenone less than
200 ppb Vomitoxin less than 2 ppm
Deoxynivalenol less than 100 ppb
12. Human Consumption Used for eating purpose. In the country of
origin & fit for human consumption
13. Quarantine Should meet Pakistan quarantine
requirements as per IPPC standard.
14. Dioxin Free
15. Live insects, Pests Free from live stored grain insects
pests & their larvae
16. *GMO Not genetically modified
17. Heavy Metals Within WHO permissible limits
18. Pesticides Pesticide residue within codex
Alimentarius limits
19. Special Requirements: i. Free from Tilletia indiea
certification to
be based on lab. Tests at load port
ii. Free from rodent residues
iii. Free from poisonous seeds
iv. Substantially free from ergot, smut
fungus, eurygaster and striga weed, leaf
streaks soil for Russian and CAS wheat,
and additionally for Canada, US and others
Ear cockle, loose barley Bacterial Wilt
Glum Rot
v. Crop: Latest crop
vi. Fumigated with phosphine at or
immediately prior to loading at rate of
3 gums. of phosphine active ingredient
per cubic meter volume of wheat grain
or as prescribed under law of country
of origin, recalculated and dust-retained
vii. Radioactivity within WHO
permissible limits
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