The shelves of a Beirut supermarket. (Archive photo: Philippe Hage Boutros/L'Orient-Le Jour)
Shoes, shampoo, toys, whisky, and cars are amongst the 26 categories of imported goods on which the Cabinet decided, on Aug. 13, to impose a new environmental waste fee of 1.5% to 3% at customs clearance. The decree is expected to be published shortly in the Official Journal, with the aim of financing waste management according to the polluter-pays principle, without drawing further from the Treasury or the Autonomous Municipal Fund. Other imported products continue to be taxed at 0.10% to 0.50% since spring, in application of Law 38 of Jan. 5, 2026.Since the first draft of the decree in June, the same concern has persisted: that the bill will end up with the consumer. Several political and union voices had called for the withdrawal of the text, denouncing its potential effect on inflation. The revised version, reduced from 98 to 26...
Shoes, shampoo, toys, whisky, and cars are amongst the 26 categories of imported goods on which the Cabinet decided, on Aug. 13, to impose a new environmental waste fee of 1.5% to 3% at customs clearance. The decree is expected to be published shortly in the Official Journal, with the aim of financing waste management according to the polluter-pays principle, without drawing further from the Treasury or the Autonomous Municipal Fund. Other imported products continue to be taxed at 0.10% to 0.50% since spring, in application of Law 38 of Jan. 5, 2026.Since the first draft of the decree in June, the same concern has persisted: that the bill will end up with the consumer. Several political and union voices had called for the withdrawal of the text, denouncing its potential effect on inflation. The revised version, reduced from 98 to 26...
