Industrial raw materials
exempted from Customs hike

Council of Ministers needs

to approve list of exempted products

The Higher Council of Customs, following the Ministry of Finance’s circular, issued a decision that exempts industrial and agricultural raw materials from the three percent custom duty, which was recently imposed in 2019 budget.

According to this decision, industrialists who can provide an industrial license issued by the Ministry of Industry are exempted from paying the newly introduced custom fees.

The three percent customs duty was recently approved in the 2019 budget, on imports subject to valued added tax (VAT), with the exception of gasoline and agricultural and industrial raw materials.

“The new law stipulates that the exempted raw materials will be specified later in a list issued by the Council of Ministers,” said Mounir Bissat, Head of International Affairs at the Association of Lebanese Industrialists.

Customs have started implementing the law and collecting the three percent customs duties from industrialists. These duties will be reimbursed after the list is issued, Bissat said.

Industrial raw materials are listed under the custom sections (321, 322, and 323). As part of this process, industrialists pledge that they will use these raw materials in their industries, or they will pay penalties.

Guidelines for agricultural raw materials are listed under the sections (311,312, and 313).