The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, led by Chairman Committee, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, conducted a comprehensive review of the proposed changes in the first schedule to the Customs Act, 1969 (Pakistan Customs Tariff).
The meeting took place on Wednesday where senior officials from the National Tariff Commission (NTC), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and Ministry of Commerce presented their insights regarding the rationale behind the proposed amendments.
During the meeting, a clause-by-clause review of the proposals and changes in customs duties for various items and raw materials was conducted. The committee chairman emphasized the importance of ensuring that any relief or concessions provided to businesses in terms of duties should be passed on to the customers through a decrease in prices. He also stressed the need for a complete picture to be presented regarding the sales tax and income tax concession, if any extended to these businesses.
Expressing his views on regulatory duties, the chairman highlighted that they should not be utilized as a revenue-generating measure. Instead, their purpose should be to promote fair trade practices and protect domestic industries.
Representatives of packaged juices industry requested the committee to abolish the 10 percent excise duty. The government had increased the excise duty last year which has not resulted in any revenue gain for the government. It has also caused a substantial decrease in sales.
The representatives of the Pakistan Association of Large steel producers briefed the committee about problems being faced by the steel industry in Pakistan. They were of the view that the supply of local steel scrap should be exempted from sales tax under section 13 of the sales tax act 1990. They also suggested that the income tax withholding rate on scrap supplies be reduced to 0.25 percent under section 153 of the income tax ordinance.
The representatives of APTMA briefed the committee about the problems faced by the textile industry in Pakistan. They said that in the current budget, there is no subsidy for electricity and gas for the textile industry which will create problems for the industry. They said that the government must amend the budgetary proposals and provide much-needed relief to the textile industry as 20 million people are attached to the textile industry. They said that already 50 percent of textile units in Punjab have shut down due to an increase in the cost of production. If the subsidy is not provided, 25 percent more units will shut down. They suggested that according to the previous year’s budget, subsidies on electricity and gas should be extended to the textile industry for its survival.
The meeting was attended by Senator Saadia Abbasi, Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman, Senator Kamil Ali Agha, Senator Imamuddin Shouqeen, along with officials from the NTC, FBR, and Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Commerce.
Source: Pro Pakistani