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Customs Fees Set At 15,000 LL To The Dollar Marking A 10x Increase

The Lebanese parliament has just passed the 2022 budget, setting the customs tax at the 15,000 LL/USD rate, ten times the “official” 1,500 LL rate that has been used for decades.

For those who are not financially inclined (like us), here it is in layman’s terms:

Old fees:

– Import something for $100. Pay a customs tax of around $5 (5%) at 1,500 LL rate = 7,500 LL.

New fees:

– Import something for $100. Pay a customs tax of around $5 (5%) at 15,000 LL rate = 75,000 LL.

With upwards of 80% of imports being subject to around a 5% customs tax, this creates a huge difference in the price of things.

Nevertheless, despite this being a massive hike from the existing fees, experts believe that the International Monetary Fund will not be satisfied as they had requested that customs are to be priced at the parallel market rate (37,000 LL on the dollar at the time of publishing).

The Lebanese state is yet to fully complete 3 out of 4 of the stipulated pre-conditions set by the IMF including enacting capital controls, setting a law to restructure the banking sector, and endorsing a financial recovery plan. By passing a budget, they have successfully ticked one thing off their “to-do” list. Mabrouk?