The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has said that essential goods are not among the goods and services on which VAT, supplementary duty and excise duty are being increased as per the conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
This information was given by NBR Public Relations Officer Al Amin Sheikh in a press release on Saturday (January 4).
The NBR Public Relations Officer said that essential goods are not among the goods and services on which VAT, supplementary duty and excise duty are being increased. Therefore, the prices of consumer goods will not increase and it will not have an impact on inflation. In the interest of the public, extensive exemptions have been given in the customs and tax rates of essential goods. In addition, the NBR has taken various steps to increase the scope of VAT and rationalize the rates with the aim of increasing internal revenue collection, implementing SDGs and becoming self-reliant as a nation.
The notification said that some news published in the media on VAT, income tax and customs recently came to the attention of the National Board of Revenue.
In the last four months, in order to increase the supply of daily necessities in the market and keep prices stable, eight products including rice, potatoes, onions, sugar, eggs, dates, edible oil and pesticides were exempted from import, local and business levels in the public interest, VAT and income tax. Due to this, revenue collection has decreased drastically. If revenue is not increased from other sectors except daily necessities, there will be a huge budget deficit. Therefore, the scope of VAT is being expanded to increase revenue. The NBR has to take this special step in the middle of the 2024-25 fiscal year.
Under pressure from the IMF, the government is going to bring some amendments to the Value Added Tax (VAT) or VAT and Supplementary Duty Act. In which additional VAT and customs duties may be imposed on about fifty products and services including medicines, powdered milk, cigarettes, air tickets. As a result, the prices of these goods and services may increase by one point before the budget. This information has been revealed by NBR sources.
It is learned that some amendments have been made to the Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act. The draft of the Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, including these amendments, was given in-principle approval at the meeting of the Advisory Council on Wednesday (January 1), subject to the vetting of the Parliamentary Affairs Department.