ICCI urges for complete ban on import of luxury items

Islamabad: Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders (ICST) on Monday asked the government to slap a complete ban on import of luxury items to protect foreign exchange reserves which will also promote local industry, employment, and revenue.

Revising regulatory duty on import of luxury and unnecessary items is a good step but authorities can consider a ban on imports as many countries including Iran, Nigeria, and Egypt have experienced the same, it said.

Pakistan is importing eighty thousand luxury cars and thousands of costly motorcycles and countless other items worth billions of dollars which can be banned, said ICST Patron Shahid Rasheed Butt.

The items which are not necessary include whey powder, grated or powdered cheese of all kinds, processed cheese, desiccated coconut, fresh grapes, watermelons, apricots, peaches prunes, apples, tamarind, cherries, pine nuts plums, lychees, raisins and dried fruits, he said.

Moreover, he said, import of betel leaves, beet sugar, cane sugar, white crystalline cane sugar, cocoa powder, potatoes, vegetables, pineapples, juices, soya sauces, tomato ketchup, tomato sauces and mustard flour can be banned.