ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will issue the statutory regulatory orders (SROs) for exemption of duties and taxes on the import of onions and tomatoes.

Sources told Business Recorder here on Wednesday that the FBR will issue the time-bound notifications to facilitate the import of these items from any country including Iran, Afghanistan and the UAE.

The FBR is waiting for the decision of the federal cabinet and as soon as the decision is communicated to the board, the necessary SROs will be issued without any delay.

Recently, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail had said that a decision to allow the import of food items from India would be taken after evaluating the supply position and consulting with coalition partners and key stakeholders.

The Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Importers Exporters Merchants Association proposed immediate abolition of duties and taxes on the import of onions and tomatoes for three months to stabilize the market.

Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFS&R) has decided that it will issue import permits for onion and tomatoes.

The decision to issue import permits for import of onion and tomatoes was taken at a meeting held in MNFS&R as crops have been heavily damaged because of recent floods and rains in the country, a senior official of MNFS&R said.

During the onion season in Balochistan, the onion crop was destroyed by torrential rains and floods. More than 80 percent onion crop in Sindh has been destroyed due to floods.

The importers will be allowed to import onion and tomatoes. The ministry has directed the Department of Plant Protection (DPP) to facilitate the import and ensure that there are no hindrances for importers.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022