Withdrawal of customs duty on 104 items proposed

The government under Finance Bill 2018 proposed to withdraw the custom duty on 104 items input raw materials and reduced the custom duty on 28 items to promote exports. The government has also proposed to exempt the customs duty on various items like tanned hides in wet state, Cydrogen Bromide, Acrylic tow, Palladium-on-carbon, LED parts, anti-cancer medicines, micro feeder equipments and on import of solar panels.
The Government also reduced the Customs duty on various items like equipments used in cinema industry, on various items for poultry sector like for growth promoters premix, Vitamin premix, vitamin B12 and Vitamin H2, Multi-ply and Aluminium foil for liquid food packaging Industry, Carbon Black, on film of ethylene, Plasters, Acetic Acid, Electrical Vehicles, and kits of electric vehicles.
The FBR has created new PCT codes created for Radial tyres, CKD/SKD kits for home appliances, CKD / SKD of Mobile Phone, Semi-automatic washing machines, Petrol Generating sets, Kerosene based mineral oils, Relays, Fuses, Gear pumps and Turbo chargers for vehicles, Electric conductors, Light fittings with fixed/fitted LED/SMD, , Refrigerated out door cabinet designed for insertion of electric and electronic apparatus, Digital/Processed Printing Inks, DOTP (Di-Octyl Terephthalate) and Pigments and preparations based thereon.
The government through Finance Bill 2018, also increased the customs duty on various items like double sized tape, Di-octyl Terephthalate ,(DOPT), aluminum auto parts scrap, soya bean oil, rickshaw tyres. The Government proposed to give provisional release of imported goods by insert the new section of 83B, Where any offence is detected in respect of imported goods which are not liable to confiscation or needed for evidence at a later stage, the Collector of Customs may, on written request of owner of the goods, allow release of the same on payment of duty, taxes or other charges and furnishing bank guarantee or pay order against the amount of any penalty or fine which may be imposed on such goods.";
The Government proposed to give power to customs to use data exchange information for the determination of customs values by inserting the new section 25AA, such as "Any information or data, obtained under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 219A, may be utilized for the purpose of assessment including valuation.";
The Government proposed to give more power to collector of customs by inserting the a new subsection 3A in section 33 of the Customs Act, 1969, to disposed off the refund claimed within a period not exceeding one hundred and eighty days from the date of filling of such claim, however the Collector of customs may extend for a period of ninety days for a reason to be recorded in writing.
The Government proposed to empower to Collector (Appeals) to grant the stay against recovery for 30 days inserting new sub-section of 2A of section 193A of the Customs Act, 1969 such as" "(2A) The Collector (Appeals) may, for a period not exceeding thirty days, stay recovery of duty and taxes on filing of appeal and after affording opportunity of being heard to the officer of the concerned Collectorate or Directorate.";
The Federal Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, devise authorized economic operator programme to provide facilitations relating to secure supply chains of imported and exported goods through simplified procedures with regard to regulatory controls applicable thereon, inserting the new section of 212A of the Customs Act, 1969. The Board may, with approval of the Federal Government, prescribe rules on matters pertaining to authorized economic operator programme.