The Pakistan Directorate General of Customs has revised the customs values for 104 varieties of branded chocolates imported from different countries. On Monday, the directorate released a new valuation ruling (1980 of 2025), increasing the assessed values of branded chocolates for estimating duties and taxes during the import process.
The customs values have been updated for a wide range of imported chocolate brands, including Kit Kat Bars/Wafers, Mars, Bounty, Snickers, Alprose Swiss Butter, Cadbury, Galaxy, Galaxy Jewels Chocolates, After Eight, Lindt, Belgian Chocolate, M&M Chocolate Beans, Milky Way, Skittles Fruit Beans, Toblerone, Choco Jinny, Maltesers Chocolate, and other branded chocolates.
As stated in the ruling, the values of the specified goods have remained unchanged since 2022. Consequently, an evaluation was undertaken under Sections 25 and 25A of the Customs Act 1969 to determine the customs values. The process was driven by an analysis of import data, prevailing market trends, and the disparity between market prices and existing customs values.
In a move to ensure transparency, a stakeholders’ meeting was held on January 16, 2025, bringing together key representatives from the industry. Attendees were invited to share their perspectives on the formulation of customs values and were requested to provide relevant import documents to support their claims about pricing discrepancies.
To ensure an accurate evaluation, 90 days of import data were gathered and meticulously reviewed. Furthermore, customs officials carried out a market inquiry as outlined in sub-section (7) of Section 25 of the Customs Act, 1969. The officials personally visited various wholesale and retail markets to obtain direct insights into the actual selling prices of the chocolates.
After reviewing the findings and adjusting for profit margins and costs, the C&F values for imported chocolates were finalized under the Customs Act 1969. The revision is likely to raise import duties, affecting prices for importers, retailers, and consumers in Pakistan.
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