Pakistan govt restores 18pc GST on sugar

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government has reinstated an 18 per cent sales tax on imported sugar, according to a notification issued.

The concession had originally been introduced in August 2025 to improve domestic sugar availability. At the time, the sales tax on imported sugar was reduced from 18 per cent to 0.25 per cent.

The notification stated that the tax relief applied exclusively to sugar imported by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), under a government-approved plan to import 500,000 tonnes of the commodity.

Under the latest decision, the reduced rate of 0.25 per cent has been withdrawn, and the standard 18 per cent sales tax has been restored on imported sugar.

The notification added that the revised tax rate has taken effect from 22 April 2026.

In Feb, Pakistan witnessed a dramatic 7,906.15% increase in sugar imports over the first seven months of the current fiscal year, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) report.

The data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, show between July and January, sugar imports exceeded $17.46 million, compared with just $211,800 during the same period last year.

In January 2026 alone, sugar imports reached $23.4 million, marking a 46.38% increase month-on-month.

Overall food imports have also risen, with a 7.74% increase recorded in January and a cumulative 19.26% rise over the seven-month period. During this time, the total value of food imports exceeded $5.5 billion.

Other major import commodities included tea, valued at over $37.65 million, palm oil exceeding $235 million, and dried fruits worth more than $11 million.