The Mountain Gave Birth to a Mouse

The recent Budget under consideration by the Parliament includes some import duty reforms. These reforms are pro-business, although not necessarily pro-efficiency-based growth. Bolder reforms are needed to put productivity at the forefront of Pakistan’s growth agenda. The FY21/22 Budget presented to Parliament includes import duty reforms that are both wide in coverage, but mild in depth. There are 3,128 tariff lines for which import duty changes are proposed (out of a total of 7,627). In most cases, the duty change implies a reduction. Yet, altogether, the changes make up to an average reduction of import duties of only 5 percent: going from 21.12 percent on average, to 20.07 percent. The mountain gave birth to a mouse.