Pakistan customs authority revises coal import valuation benchmark

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Pakistan coal import valuation update

Highlights

Pakistan's Directorate General of Customs Valuation Karachi issued Valuation Ruling No. 70/2026 on October 12, 2026, revising customs values for imported coal under tariff codes 2701.1200 and 2701.1900.
The new customs valuation method links coal import assessments to the Argus price plus actual freight, using the applicable Argus benchmark on the letter of credit date.
The ruling replaces the previous fixed value system with a market-linked mechanism under Section 25A of the Customs Act, 1969, to better reflect international coal price movements.

New valuation method takes effect

As reported by Pakistan Business Recorder, the Directorate General of Customs Valuation Karachi has issued Valuation Ruling No. 70/2026, dated October 12, 2026, to revise customs values for imported coal from all origins.

The new ruling supersedes Valuation Advice No. 01/2023, which was issued by the Directorate of Customs Valuation, Quetta on September 12, 2023. It applies to coal classified under Pakistan Customs Tariff codes 2701.1200 and 2701.1900, and customs values are now determined on the basis of the Argus price plus actual freight, using the applicable Argus price on the letter of credit date.

The Directorate says the change follows a review of prevailing customs values amid shifts in international coal prices. A meeting with stakeholders was held on October 5, 2026, and participants requested a valuation system linked to the Argus benchmark so that customs assessments better reflect market movements than a fixed value.

Implications for coal import assessments

In its ruling, the Directorate says it examined Argus price assessments and compared them with existing customs values, while also reviewing import data from the preceding 90 days to assess declared values and coal import trends.

The authority says Argus is a recognised international benchmark that moves in line with market conditions, making it a suitable reference for customs valuation. It also states that valuation methods under Section 25 of the Customs Act, 1969 were reviewed in sequence, but the transaction value method could not be used because the required information was unavailable.

The identical and similar goods methods were also deemed unsuitable because the available 90-day import data reflected international prices that had since changed. As a result, the customs values are determined under Section 25A, read with the proviso to Section 25A(1), of the Customs Act, 1969, and the mechanism remains in force until it is revised or withdrawn.

In our earlier article on Pakistan’s October 15 fuel price revision, we covered the government’s latest adjustment to ex-depot petrol and high-speed diesel rates under its regular pricing mechanism. The update explained that the changes were attributed to global market movements, including shifts in benchmark assessments and related cost components that feed into local prices.

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