In order to provide relief to importers, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has significantly reduced cash margin requirements on deferred payments on the imports of commodities from different countries.
According to a circular, the cash margin will be 25 percent for payments from 91 to 180 days and zero percent on payments beyond 180 days instead of the previous requirement of 100 percent.
Based on the tiered approach, the cash margin requirements shall be applicable to the PKR equivalent amount of the import transaction.
It may be noted that the above instructions shall be applicable to all new import transactions initiated by the bank after the issuance date of this circular letter. However, on already initiated import transactions, the instructions may only be applied if the amendments (in terms of payment) are made subsequent to the date of the issuance of instructions
The cash margins deposited by importers on all items subject to CMR would be non-remunerative, the circular said.
In April, In order to arrest the unabated imports bill, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decided to impose 100 percent Cash Margin Requirements (CMR) on the import of 177 items with immediate effect.
The list includes various items that fall under the category of luxury or non-essential goods. It added electronic items, construction, and furniture, food items, mobile phones, routers, memory cards, networking equipment garments, etc.
