Cabinet introduces new customs duties

By Azernews

By Nigar Abbasova

The Cabinet of Ministers has announced customs duty changes on inputs to make manufacturing competitive. 

The changes imply introduction of customs duties on import of a number of copper goods. The decision will be in force for a period of five years.

The changes will cover import of intermediates, used for the production of wires made of purified copper, rolled products and other goods made of purified copper. The duty amounts to 10 percent of the cost of the imported product. However, the amount of the fee should not be less than $300 per 1,000 kilograms.

Other changes include liquidation of customs duties for the import of goods intended for use in civil aviation.

The decision will cover import duties on jet engines, hydraulic systems, busses used for transportation of passenger within an airport, civil helicopters, planes, rubber pneumatical tyre, protectors, braking devices, as well as spare parts.

New rates will be effective starting from February 13.

As of October 1, 2016, the Customs Committee transferred 1.653 billion manats to the state budget, which exceeds the forecast by more than 20 percent.

The forecast on transfers on customs duties and taxes has been set at 2.2 billion manats ($ 1.35 billion) for 2017, which is 21.5 percent more than the forecast for 2016.

Since 2001, Azerbaijan has been using a multi-stage differentiated tariff system with a rate of 0, 0.5, 1, 3, 5, 9 and 15 percent.  Currently, a number of imported goods are subject to the maximum rate of customs duty (15 percent) to protect domestic products from the negative impact of foreign competition.