The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the Federal Board of Revenue to drop a new valuation formula for imported plastic toys since it will not only open the floodgates of smuggling but also decrease the import of plastic toys through official channels.
President LCCI, Mohammad Ali Mian expressed these views while talking to a delegation of importers of plastic toys who called on him to apprise him of the gravity of the situation after the issuance of New Valuation order. The LCCI President said that the New Valuation Order issued on January 26 would deprive the exchequer of revenue of millions of rupees being paid by the importers of toys. Besides, he added the importers, failing to clear their goods in time due to high rates would have to face heavy demurrages and detention charges.
He urged the Federal Board of Revenue to allow all the importers to clear their goods under Section 81 of the previous Valuation Law by giving a Self Indemnity Bond to customs authorities.
Toys Importers Association head, Mohammad Yaseen earlier informed the LCCI President that the Customs Valuation Director General had imposed a law saying the rate of custom duties would be $1 to $1.5 per kg on toys import. But on January 26, he issued a circular and directed all the Collectorates to assess and determine Custom Value of all the categories of plastic toys under new valuation rates of $2.5 to $8 per kg.
He said the decision of the Director General Custom Valuation was totally unrealistic which would cause a loss of billions of rupees to the importers. Yaseen said that the rise in valuation and assessment rates of imported plastic toys had been made without taking the stakeholders into confidence. He appealed to the LCCI to look into the matter and convince the concerned authorities to reverse the decision.