Customs Issues New Tile Import Values for 2025

Karachi, July 23, 2025, 07:16 PM PKT — The Directorate General of Customs Valuation in Karachi has unveiled a pivotal update, issuing new customs values for tile imports—covering 14 polished porcelain types, 14 regular porcelain types, and nine matt, glazed, glazed polished, and border tiles (including gold, silver, or luster-decorated, plain or embossed) under Valuation Ruling No. 2011 of 2025, per official data. This revision, triggered by Section 25-A of the Customs Act, 1969, follows Valuation Ruling No. 1972/2025, challenged under Section 25-D, with Order-in-Revision No. 34/2025 remanding it back for fresh evaluation, addressing grouping issues of UAE, Turkey, and Iran tiles with lower-value Chinese tiles and size-based valuation disputes.

The Directorate held stakeholder meetings on May 5 and June 16, 2025, where importers cited falling global prices due to new technologies, warning of mis-declaration risks and arguing non-Chinese tiles’ mis-categorization and non-proportional size pricing. Local manufacturers countered with heavy investments in larger tiles, insisting high import prices and size-scaled values, urging a market inquiry, though stakeholders submitted no full documentation, with importers and RAK Ceramics, UAE, failing to provide sales tax returns and Annexure-C. Until reassessment concludes, the current ruling stands. Web context reveals customs valuation debates, while posts found on X show concern—some demand fair pricing, others question transparency. Critically, the narrative of “value correction” may mask enforcement gaps—web data hints at past disputes, and X sentiment suggests distrust in equitable outcomes, pointing to ongoing tension.