The revenue board has extended the duty benefits covering the import of raw materials and equipment for local production of computer spare parts, accessories, and other digital products.
Last week, the customs wing issued a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO), offering the duty benefit in case of the import of another 17 products.
The benefits apply to the existing 62 products for local production of computer.
Printed Circuit Board (PCB), PCBA (PCB assembly) and other related products, which are required for manufacturing computer spare parts, accessories and other products, will enjoy the duty benefit at the import stage.
In fiscal year 2016-17, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) offered a reduced rate of Customs Duty, or 1.0 per cent, on the import of 62 types of raw materials and accessories for facilitating domestic production and assembling of computers.
All other duties and taxes including Supplementary Duty (SD), Regulatory Duty (RD) and Value-Added Tax (VAT) on the import of the computer parts have been waived.
Customs officials said the board has issued the new SRO by including some new spare parts and accessories that are required for local production of computer parts.
Tools for drilling, photographic chemical, pumice power, master batch, unexposed photosensitive plate and film, Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) resin, pet optical film, bottom case aluminum foil, tin alloy, sulfuric acid, sodium chlorate, copper sulfate, sodium permanganate, etc are the newly-included products.
Officials said the local manufacturer Walton group has sought the duty benefit to produce computer accessories.
Upon request, the customs wing extended the benefit to facilitate local production.
However, the NBR has imposed a condition, along with existing ones, for availing the duty waiver.
To avail the duty benefit, the applicant must have some machinery such as exposing machine, wave soldiering machine, surface mounting technology, injection moulding machine, automatic optical inspection machine, reflow oven machine, Data Encryption Standard (DES), Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC), and effluent treatment plant.
The local production of computer display, motherboard, PCB, mouse and other parts is expected to get a boost after the duty benefit, officials said.
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