Lebanon President Michel Aoun refused to sign a decree that will increase the customs fees as a result of the proposed increase in the Dollar LBP exchange rate , according to Lebanese media reports .
The customs Dollar LBP exchange rate is used to determine the customs duty on imports.
The current rate is 1,500 Lebanese Lebanese pounds to 1 US dollar. A decree signed by the PM designate Najib designate and the caretaker Minister of Finance would increase the exchange rate from LBP 1,500 to more than 26,000, if signed by Aoun, resulting in a whopping 17 times increase in customs fees
Aoun refused to sign the decree, stressing that the increase in exchange tae must be gradual.
From 1997 to 2019 the Dollar Lebanese exchange rate was about 1500 LBP to the dollar but since then the Lebanese currency collapsed and the current parallel market exchange rate is over 30,000
The cash-strapped Lebanese government approved a draft budget law for 2022 that hikes the customs dollar and imposes new duties, as the country battles a severe economic crisis.
Despite assurances by concerned authorities that the new customs dollar will not affect the prices of basic goods, many citizens find it disastrous and believe it will increase state revenues out of the people’s pockets in order to reduce the public budget deficit.
Meanwhile, prices of some commodities have already increased under the pretext of covering the projected cost of imports.
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