The Directorate General of Customs Valuation, Karachi has revised the customs valuation of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films after more than 10 years.

A new valuation ruling has been issued for BOPP film imports originating from the USA, China, Canada and Europe.

According to officials, the previous valuation was set in 2015 under Section 25A of the Customs Act, 1969. Over time, it has become outdated as it no longer reflects current international market prices.

The revision was triggered by significant changes in global polypropylene (PP) resin prices, which is the key raw material used in manufacturing BOPP films. These price fluctuations have directly impacted production costs worldwide.

Authorities also received repeated requests from importers of BOPP films and manufacturers of BOPP tape, urging an update in customs values to align them with prevailing market conditions.

In response, the directorate initiated a detailed review process. Stakeholder consultations were held with importers and manufacturers, and import data from the last 90 days was analyzed. The findings showed clear differences between declared import values and the previously assessed customs rates.

International price trends and industry indices for PP resin were also examined, confirming major cost variations affecting the product.

Officials noted that BOPP film is primarily an industrial raw material used in packaging and tape manufacturing, and is not commonly traded in retail markets. This made certain valuation methods under the law unsuitable.

After reviewing all applicable methods under Section 25 of the Customs Act, the computed value approach was applied. The updated customs values have now been determined under Section 25(9) in combination with Section 25(8).