The government has extended the facility for traders to import rice at reduced duty by three months to keep the rice market stable and ensure the grain’s availability in the local market.
A National Board of Revenue (NBR) notification issued Tuesday read that the new decision will take effect from January 1 next year and remain effective till March 31.
Before each import of consignment, the traders will have to take approval from the food ministry, the notification read.
On August 28, the government issued a statutory regulatory order (SRO) that cut the regulatory duty to 5 per cent from 25 per cent and also withdrew the customs duty till December 31 this year.
The government cut rice import duty to 25 per cent from 62.5 per cent in an effort to keep the rice market stable on June 23.
