ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) announced to banish excise, and regulatory duties over items being imported for flood-relief operations in the country.
According to the five Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs) issued by the FBR amid devastating floods in the country the excise and regulatory duties over imported items for flood have been banished. The imported items will need to be approved by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) or a Provincial Disaster Management Authority(PDMA), the notification read.
Moreover, no custom or excise duty would be collected on items sent for relief and rescue operations by other countries. The Prime Minister ordered to banish the duties for the smooth operation of flood-relief activities in the country, it added.
Global aid started arriving in Pakistan as the scale of flood devastation unfolded, with planes carrying tents, food and medicines arriving from China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, the foreign office said on Wednesday.
Bhutto-Zardari said the international response had been encouraging. Among the deliveries, four Chinese planes had delivered a total of 3,000 tents and other relief goods, the foreign office said.