Court moved against regulatory duty on imports

LAHORE: The imposition of regulatory duty on import of 700 items has been challenged in the Lahore High Court through a writ petition. A local company has filed the petition, saying that the federal finance minister under Finance Act 2017 had imposed regulatory duty on the import of 700 items but the prior permission was not sought from the parliament. The petitioner-company said the federal finance minister had been empowered through Section 18(3) of Finance Act 2017, which is tantamount to undermining the supremacy of the parliament as an individual could not be allowed to assume the role of the parliament. The petitioner said levying of the regulatory duty was violation of fundamental rights of freedom of trade and business as well as of the Rules of Business 1973.