Budget 2025 Pakistan: Finance minister announces big tariff relief

Government’s broader goal is to reshape Pakistan’s tariff architecture in way that supports industrial growth
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is presenting budget 2024-25 in the National Assembly on June 12, 2024. — APP

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is presenting budget 2024-25 in the National Assembly on June 12, 2024. — APP

As the Federal Budget 2025 Pakistan, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has announced a major relief on additional customs duties on 4,000 tariff lines out of a total of 7,000 and duties on a further 2,700.

The finance minister noted that the tariff rationalisation was a “major and important step” in aligning Pakistan’s trade and industrial policy with global standards. The initiative marks the beginning of a phased plan towards a simplified tariff regime, ultimately targeting an average tariff rate of just over 4%.

Federal budget 2025 Pakistan

“Overall, there are 7,000 tariff lines. Additional customs duty has been removed on 4,000 lines, and in 2,700 of those, the customs duty has also been reduced,” the finance minister explained. “Of these, around 2,000 tariff lines are directly linked to raw materials and intermediary goods used by the exporters.”

With the budget 2025-26 Pakistan, the government’s broader goal is to reshape Pakistan’s tariff architecture in a way that supports industrial growth and integrates the economy more deeply into global supply chains.

“This is not just about reducing duties—it’s about transforming the overall macroeconomic framework,” the minister stated.

The reforms are set to gradually change import substitution with export promotion, a pivot the government considers essential for addressing Pakistan’s recurring balance of payments crises and dollar liquidity pressures.

The minister stated that the increases in salaries and pensions were directly linked to the headline inflation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), ensuring adjustments reflect inflationary pressures.