Khalil: Fees on imports to be collected at LBP 15,000 rate as of Dec. 1

The LBP 15,000 dollar exchange rate for fees and taxes on imported goods will enter into effect as of December 1, 2022, caretaker Finance Minister Youssef Khalil said on Wednesday.

“This measure contributes to curbing the exploitation of price differences and limiting the deficiencies and losses that the treasury is incurring,” Khalil added in a statement.

Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh had confirmed Monday that the official exchange rate for the Lebanese lira against the dollar and circulars 151 and 158 of the central bank will be hiked to LBP 15,000 as of February 1, 2023.

“Today we have entered a phase of unifying exchange rates and this had started with the ‘customs dollar’ that the Finance Ministry is deciding about along with the other fees and taxes,” Salameh said in an interview on al-Hurra TV.