Govt lifts export development surcharge, easing cost pressures on exporters

• SBP says all earlier circulars related to the surcharge now stand withdrawn.
• Says all export goods exempted from surcharge with immediate effect.
• Adviser says move follows formation of new private-sector–led working groups.

The federal government has annulled the development surcharge on all exports, the State Bank said on Tuesday, offering exporters some breathing room as they try to lower costs and stay competitive in global markets.

The Export Development Surcharge (EDS) had been set at 0.25%.

“The federal government has exempted all exported goods from Export Development Surcharge levied under sub section (1) of section 11 of the Finance Act 1991, with immediate effect,” as per an SBP notification.

The central bank said that its previous circular letters stood abolished with immediate effect.

“Decision taken by the prime minister in a few days of forming the focused working groups with the private sector in the lead, to revoke the Export Development Surcharge, amongst other key restructuring decisions,” Khurram Schehzad, Advisor to the Finance Minister, Pakistan, said in a post on X.

“The speed of decision and implementation has shown the will and commitment of the Government of Pakistan to reduce [the] cost of doing business while providing an enabling environment for investors and exporters,” Schehzad added.

The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and attended by economic experts.

Earlier, the prime minister had set up a dedicated Working Group on EDS, led by Musadaq Zulqarnain, to review the Export Development Fund (EDF) and recommend reforms.

The group brought together private-sector representatives along with Secretary Commerce Bilal Azhar Kiyani, EDF Executive Director Mosharraf Zaidi, Shahzad Saleem, Misbah Naqvi, Khurram Mukhtar, Arif Saeed, Ahmad Umair and Sualeh Faruqi.