Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz today signed a directive abolishing customs duties on hundreds of imports, beginning on January 1, 2012. The directive applies to industrial and consumer items. The directive will cost NIS 400 million a year in revenues - a quarter of total annual customs duties on these items.
The directive is one of the Trajtenberg Committee's recommendations.
The Ministry of Finance said that the directive would apply to consumer items, including baby carriages, toys, clothing, home appliances, cosmetics, sewing machines, tires, leather handbags and luggage, glassware, and medications. It will also apply to raw materials for industry, such as chemical compounds and wood.
Steinitz said, "The cancelling of customs duties on a long list of products consumed by Israeli families and raw materials used by local industry is an important contribution to the easing of the cost of living for the country's people. Most of these products are not manufactured in Israel, and reducing the customs on them will not affect domestic industry."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 28, 2011
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011