The Hall Roads Traders Association on Saturday staged a protest on Saturday against the increase of 500 percent custom duty on the import of electronic items. They demanded that government should immediately take back the decision of increasing the custom duty on electronic items.
They raised slogans against the government and Customs department and its officials for taking decisions without consulting the real stakeholders. President Khidmat Group Hall Road Babar Mahmood said that government had made 500 percent increase in the valuation, without taking business community onboard. He also said that this increase would deprive common people of these products as prices of electronic products would touch the sky.
He said that astonishing increase in valuation of imported electronic items as compared to previous valuation ruling was a sheer injustice and would force commercial importers to find other illegal means to bring these products into the country. He also said that if new valuation ruling on electronic products is not withdrawn, it will not only badly affect the businesses but would also not be able to generate the revenue collected against the clearance of these goods.