Tax-free livestock import scheme launched

Dawn reported that the Federal Board of Revenue has issued rules for a duty and tax-free facility covering live cattle, sheep and goats brought in for fattening. The arrangement is designed to support export-oriented livestock and meat processing businesses, which can ship animals either alive or as processed meat. The rules appear as notification SRO1752 of 2026 and will be finalised within seven days after stakeholders provide feedback.

The scheme exempts participants from customs duty and sales tax, along with federal excise and withholding on income, provided they meet export obligations and safeguards. Animals born in Pakistan fall outside the scheme, and purebred breeding stock is also excluded. Under the two tracks, Track-A covers live animals fattened for export as livestock, while Track-B covers slaughter, processing and export of meat products.

Approved businesses could bring in feed, veterinary medicines, vaccines and identification devices duty-free, but only for animals bound for export. The FBR has also proposed letting investors import machinery for feedlots, quarantine facilities, slaughterhouses and meat plants, with a 24-month commissioning window extendable by 12 months. Beneficiaries must ship abroad 80pc of imported animals counted by head under Track-A, or 80pc of total output by value under Track-B, in the initial full financial year of operations, and keep the same ratio for four more years.