KARACHI: The Director of Valuation determined the value of MDF (Maximum Density Fiber) Board and its value added products, Pakistan Customs in Valuation Ruling No. 815/2016 dated January 29, 2016.

The new ruling replaces the earlier ruling 631 of 2013 followed by a corrigendum dated 11-2-2015. According to the new valuation ruling issued by the Director, Valuation Manzoor Hussain Memon, custom values of MDF Board and various MDG Value added products from different origin including Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia Thailand, China, Vietnam, New Zealand and Turkey is as under:

MDF Fiber Board — 2.2 mm  to    3 mm      US $ 0.306/kg or 255  CBM

MDF Fiber Board — 3.01 mm to   6 mm      US $ 0.333/Kg or 279  CBM

MDF Fiber Board — 6.01 mm to   9 mm      US $ 0.300/kg or 239  CBM

MDF Fiber Board — 10 mm  to  14.9 mm    US $ 0.300/kg or 235  CBM

                                   Value Added MDF Board

The value for MDF (UV) 2.2 mm to 3 mm was determined at US $ 1.597/kg or 1430 CBM, Acrylic (2.2 mm to 3 mm) US $ 3.141 or 2814 CBM, Embossed (2.2 mm to 3 mm) US $ 4.376/kg or 3920 CBM , Aluminum (2.2 mm to 3 mm) US $ 2.606/kg or 2334 CBM and Melamine (2.2 mm to 3 mm) US $ 0.367/kg or 306 CBM so on and so forth depending on the thickness of the board up to 14.9 mm .

The valuation ruling said that exercise for determining the new value was taken at the request of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which demanded a downward revision of the customs value in view of the decreasing prices at international level. The importers of MDF from Sri Lanka also joined the chorus saying that they were not given a level playing field. On the other hand, local manufacturers including Al Noor Sugar Mills Thal Pvt Limited and Peshawar Particle Board opposed the plea on ground that MDF Board despite a high value item is being cleared on the value of raw MDF board through gross mis-declaration as no value is fixed for the value added products.

The Director Valuation further stated in the VR that all stakeholders were taken on board and several meetings were held. All the Valuation methods as per section 25 of the Customs Act 1969 were applied but as none was found applicable , finally import data obtained from PRAL (Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited) was analyzed and international prices from various sources on internet were also checked and on the basis of these information the new valuation was determined under VR 815/2016.