A message from the Director of Imports to the Director General...
The Director of Imports at the Ministry of Finance, Louay Hajj Shehadeh, sent a letter to the Acting Director General of Finance, George Al-Maarawi, asking him to calculate the customs dollar on the exchange rate on the parallel market. What is meant by the customs dollar is the pricing of the goods imported from abroad and the collection of customs duties and value-added tax on the basis of this pricing. Haji Shehadeh bases his request on the existence of three rates of the pound against the dollar in force in the market: the price set by the Central Bank of Lebanon at 1515 Syrian pounds, the price of the platform issued by the Banque du Liban also of 3900 liras, and the price in the parallel market, which reached 10 thousand pounds at a time. At the same time, he indicates that Article 35 of Decree 4461 requires customs to convert the value of invoices for goods issued in foreign currency into Lebanese currency based on the conversion rates that are determined monthly or periodically by the Banque du Liban, and that this matter will only result in a limited increase in commodity prices. Processing it via the ration card or similar measures.
Text of the message
His Excellency the Director General of Finance
Subject: Amending the official rate of foreign currencies in order to collect customs duties and value added tax upon import.
Whereas, since late 2019, Lebanon has witnessed a rise in the exchange rate of the US dollar and other foreign currencies towards the Lebanese pound, and it reached about ten thousand Lebanese pounds to one dollar in a period of time, and it is currently dealt with in the black market up to seven thousand pounds, at a time. Which is still the official price of 1515 liras.
Whereas, the Banque du Liban issued more than one circular or decision to limit the slip in the exchange rate of the US dollar, but this did not prevent the emergence of more than one price for it between the official rate, the rate of transfer through banks and money transfer companies, the price of the electronic platform, and the price in the market Black.
Given the scarcity of the US dollar in the financial and banking market, the phenomenon of exchanging bank checks for cash dollars has boomed. The transfer used to be done initially without any discount or with a limited discount, then it started with an incremental discount until the discount is now around 70%.
Whereas Lebanon depends on imports to secure the overwhelming majority of its needs, and given the scarcity of the US dollar and the difficulty of opening credits through banks, unless cash dollars are secured, and given that importers have to resort to the parallel market to obtain their needs of dollars to be able to import,
Whereas, the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Administration received numerous reviews from the economic institutions and authorities calling for a mechanism for tax and accounting treatment of the problem resulting from the presence of more than one price for the US dollar and their being forced to buy dollars from the black market due to the inability of the licensed money changers to meet their full needs or because of the lack of Issuing invoices specifying the price at which the dollar was sold.
Whereas, to date, the needs of the local market in terms of goods, materials, goods and equipment were divided into three categories:
– The first category includes goods fully subsidized or 85% of the Central Bank of Lebanon, so that the Banque du Liban provides dollars to importers at the official price of 1515 Lebanese pounds.
– The second category: includes the subsidized commodities that are classified as basic by the Ministry of Economy and Trade in total, so that the Banque du Liban secures dollars to importers on the price of the electronic platform.
– The third category includes the rest of the non-subsidized goods, so that importers secure their needs of dollars from the black market.
Whereas, according to the above, the Lebanese market has adopted three US dollar rates:
– The official price.
The price is according to the online platform.
The price is according to the black market (parallel).
Whereas, Article 35 of Decree 4461 of 12/15/2000 (Customs Law) states that if the value of the goods included in the invoice is denominated in a foreign currency, it is converted into Lebanese currency on the basis of the conversion rate in effect at the date of recording the preferential statement and which is based on conversion rates Determined by the Central Bank of Lebanon monthly or periodically.
Whereas, continuing to collect fees and value-added taxes on the price of 1515 pounds will lead to the loss of great resources for the Lebanese treasury that are in dire need of them, especially after the significant decline in the value of the Lebanese currency.
Therefore, based on the foregoing, I believe that it is necessary, at least for the purposes of collecting customs duties and value-added taxes, to adjust the exchange rate of the dollar and other foreign currencies, to a price that mimics the actual reality of the price of those currencies, noting that the slight rise in commodity prices that It will appear in the market and be reflected on the final consumers, since merchants who buy from importers can recover or deduct the value-added tax, which can be addressed and reduced its negative impact on them, by adopting a direct support policy for Lebanese consumers by providing them with food cards or other similar measures. Especially since a number of essential goods are exempt from value-added tax.
Text of the message
His Excellency the Director General of Finance
Subject: Amending the official rate of foreign currencies in order to collect customs duties and value added tax upon import.
Whereas, since late 2019, Lebanon has witnessed a rise in the exchange rate of the US dollar and other foreign currencies towards the Lebanese pound, and it reached about ten thousand Lebanese pounds to one dollar in a period of time, and it is currently dealt with in the black market up to seven thousand pounds, at a time. Which is still the official price of 1515 liras.
Whereas, the Banque du Liban issued more than one circular or decision to limit the slip in the exchange rate of the US dollar, but this did not prevent the emergence of more than one price for it between the official rate, the rate of transfer through banks and money transfer companies, the price of the electronic platform, and the price in the market Black.
Given the scarcity of the US dollar in the financial and banking market, the phenomenon of exchanging bank checks for cash dollars has boomed. The transfer used to be done initially without any discount or with a limited discount, then it started with an incremental discount until the discount is now around 70%.
Whereas Lebanon depends on imports to secure the overwhelming majority of its needs, and given the scarcity of the US dollar and the difficulty of opening credits through banks, unless cash dollars are secured, and given that importers have to resort to the parallel market to obtain their needs of dollars to be able to import,
Whereas, the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Administration received numerous reviews from the economic institutions and authorities calling for a mechanism for tax and accounting treatment of the problem resulting from the presence of more than one price for the US dollar and their being forced to buy dollars from the black market due to the inability of the licensed money changers to meet their full needs or because of the lack of Issuing invoices specifying the price at which the dollar was sold.
Whereas, to date, the needs of the local market in terms of goods, materials, goods and equipment were divided into three categories:
– The first category includes goods fully subsidized or 85% of the Central Bank of Lebanon, so that the Banque du Liban provides dollars to importers at the official price of 1515 Lebanese pounds.
– The second category: includes the subsidized commodities that are classified as basic by the Ministry of Economy and Trade in total, so that the Banque du Liban secures dollars to importers on the price of the electronic platform.
– The third category includes the rest of the non-subsidized goods, so that importers secure their needs of dollars from the black market.
Whereas, according to the above, the Lebanese market has adopted three US dollar rates:
– The official price.
The price is according to the online platform.
The price is according to the black market (parallel).
Whereas, Article 35 of Decree 4461 of 12/15/2000 (Customs Law) states that if the value of the goods included in the invoice is denominated in a foreign currency, it is converted into Lebanese currency on the basis of the conversion rate in effect at the date of recording the preferential statement and which is based on conversion rates Determined by the Central Bank of Lebanon monthly or periodically.
Whereas, continuing to collect fees and value-added taxes on the price of 1515 pounds will lead to the loss of great resources for the Lebanese treasury that are in dire need of them, especially after the significant decline in the value of the Lebanese currency.
Therefore, based on the foregoing, I believe that it is necessary, at least for the purposes of collecting customs duties and value-added taxes, to adjust the exchange rate of the dollar and other foreign currencies, to a price that mimics the actual reality of the price of those currencies, noting that the slight rise in commodity prices that It will appear in the market and be reflected on the final consumers, since merchants who buy from importers can recover or deduct the value-added tax, which can be addressed and reduced its negative impact on them, by adopting a direct support policy for Lebanese consumers by providing them with food cards or other similar measures. Especially since a number of essential goods are exempt from value-added tax.
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