NA Panel Reviews Impact of Pakistan’s First National Tariff Policy

The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Commerce, chaired by Javed Hanif Khan, reviewed the outcomes of Pakistan’s first National Tariff Policy (2019-2024) in today’s meeting. The committee unanimously approved the minutes of the previous meeting before discussing the national tariff policy’s impact. Additional Secretary of Commerce said that before 2019, Pakistan had no formal tariff policy. The 2019-2024 policy, however, marked a significant shift, positively influencing the country’s trade. Despite challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted global trade, the policy led to notable improvements in Pakistan’s export sector, with exports increasing from $25 billion to $32 billion. Committee member Mirza Akhtar Baig raised questions about the effectiveness of the zero-rated regime for raw materials and the imposition of Additional Customs Duty (ACD) in the current budget. Commerce officials responded that the policy had successfully rationalized over 6,500 tariff lines in its first four years, contributing to a decrease in imports since 2017. The committee has requested a detailed report on which aspects of the tariff policy were implemented and the reasons behind any that were not. This report will be reviewed in the next meeting.