Duties are primarily intended to raise revenue, although their financial importance is limited by the fact that the government itself—through its Myanmar Export-Import Corp.—is by far the country's predominant importer. Import licenses are required for shipment of almost anything into the country. The official exchange rate overvalues the domestic currency by 100 times. Until Myanmar joined ASEAN in July 1997, customs tariffs ranged from zero to 500%; in 1997, a new tariff schedule went into effect ranging from zero to 15% for most industrial inputs to a maximum of 40% for cars and luxury items. In spring 1998 a 10% service fee (reduced to 8% by September) was enacted on all border-trade exports.