LAHORE: Importers of decoration, Christmas and rice lights have reacted to the newly fixed customs value of the lights.
They were of the views that due to the sudden increase in the value, over 25 containers of the Christmas lights have stuck up at ports across the country.
Shahrukh Jamal Butt, executive committee member of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce, told Customs Today that customs official were demanding $4 customs value carriage and freight per kilogram instead of $1.5 per kilogram.
He added that they were demanding customs value in accordance with a recent letter of suggestion which has yet to be implemented.
More than 25 containers worth 300 million are stuck at the dry port and the customs official are not releasing the containers and they feared that if the containers were not released before time consumers would not be able to decorate their house with the rice lights on the eve of Eid Milad-un-Nabi. He urged the customs authorities to release the containers on the actual customs value rate.
Earlier, a delegation from Shah Alam market visited the chamber and held a meeting with LCCI president Abdul Basit and vice president Muhammad Nasir Hameed Nasir Hameed and Abdul Basit assured them early resolution of the issue.
Former vice president Nasir Saeed told Customs Today that such tactics on the part of the authorities have always proved a hurdle in the way of development and growth of the business. He urged the authorities concerned to take up the issue on war-footing basis and resolve the issue.
The rice lights are imported from China while customs value goes up when the rice lights are imported from Far East, Europe and other countries. It was therefore the lights are imported from China.
