Federal cabinet approves National Tariff Policy

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet meeting on Tuesday approved the first-ever National Tariff Policy (NTP), ARY News reported.

Talking to media after the cabinet meeting in Islamabad, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan along with Law Minister Dr Farogh Naseem, said Prime Minister updated the cabinet on improving economic indicators of the country.

PM Khan during the meeting said for the first time the current account deficit has decreased in the country due to measures taken by the government’s economic team.

The Prime Minister directed all ministries and departments to accelerate efforts in the implementation of people-friendly policies of the government.

The cabinet discussed the issue of appointments at 134 vacant senior posts in various ministries and departments.

What is National Tariff Policy?

The National Tariff Policy aims at removing the anomalies in the tariff structure and making it a reflection of trade policy priorities and enhancement of competitiveness through duty-free access to imported raw materials.

Read More: Inside story of cabinet meet: Who opposed removal of Nawaz’s name from ECL?

The NTP is based on the principles of (i) employing tariffs as an instrument of trade policy rather than revenue generation, (ii) maintaining vertical consistency through cascading tariff structures (increasing tariff with stages of processing of a product), (iii) providing time-bound ‘strategic protection’ to the domestic industry during the infancy phase, and (iv) promoting competitive import substitution through time-bound protection, which will be phased out to make the industry eventually competitive for export-oriented production.

The policy will be implemented through a Tariff Policy Board (TPB) chaired by the Commerce Minister/Advisor, with Minister for Industries and Production, Secretary Finance, Secretary Revenue, Chairman FBR, Secretary Commerce, Secretary Board of Investment, and Chairman NTC as its members.