As the date for implementing the customs dollar approaches, financial and economic expert Antoine Farah stated that "applying the customs dollar at a rate of 15,000 Lebanese pounds will directly impact the prices of goods subject to customs tax. These goods will definitely rise in price. Unfortunately, the talk about raising the customs dollar began a year ago, which allowed traders to import large quantities of goods at the rate of 1,500 pounds and store them, knowing they would be sold at 15,000 pounds. Therefore, the Ministry of Economy should conduct an inventory of imported goods exceeding the limit and require their owners to sell them at the rate of 1,500 pounds for the customs dollar, or a settlement should be reached through the Consumer Protection Association that obliges traders to pay 1,500 pounds for the customs dollar on the excess goods."
On another note, Farah indicated in a conversation with the electronic newspaper "Anbaa" that "it was necessary to increase the customs dollar to avoid further burdens on the public budget, especially with public sector salaries tripling. This matter is very important and unavoidable to increase state revenues. However, unfortunately, if the state and the treasury do not take the aforementioned measures regarding imported goods at the rate of 1,500 pounds, there is a massive inventory of goods that may last for six months or a year, which means they will lose a lot."
Regarding the ongoing debate about capital control, Farah believes that "its approval is very important for depositors, and they should pressure for its implementation. If they have comments on some clauses, we understand this; however, if there is a general rejection of capital control, where is the interest of depositors in that?" He emphasized that "with capital control in place, there will be equality in withdrawals and transfers, noting that depositors should not object to halting lawsuits against banks, as their execution withdraws funds from small Lebanese depositors." He pointed out that "recently, a French court issued a ruling for the second time in favor of a Syrian depositor to recover her deposit of 3 million dollars from Lebanese banks, meaning that all this money is being withdrawn for non-Lebanese beneficiaries at the expense of Lebanese depositors, who should ease the pressure on capital control, following the adage that enlarging the stone does not mean hitting with it, in order to protect their deposits."
Inevitable consequences await the Lebanese between next week and early February, the scheduled date for raising the official exchange rate, especially if the minimum wage is not adjusted and if adjustments to exchange rates and the customs and banking dollars are not accompanied by measures regarding wages and salaries.
