ISLAMABAD: The business community of the federal capital has urged the government to take stern action against the smuggling, which is destroying the local industry.
Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Muzzamil Hussain Sabri, in a statement, said that national exchequer has to bear around Rs120 to Rs150 billion losses annually due to smuggling of many items. He said that the smuggling is damaging the local industry, discouraging investment & legal imports and causing sufficient revenue loss collected from taxes, duties and levies at the import stage.
The ICCI president said that a World Bank study has estimated revenue loss of $35 billion to the country’s economy during the nine years period from 2001 to 2009 due to smuggling of Afghan transit trade alone. He said there was huge smuggling of consumer items like black tea, diesel/POL products, automobiles, tyres etc. besides non-duty paid luxury vehicles from porous borders of Pakistan with neighbouring countries.
He was wondered that despite confronting about 34-35 agencies on the way to enter Pakistani territory, the phenomenon of smuggling was on the rise. This state of affairs calls for priority attention of the government to take strict anti-smuggling measures in order to save the domestic industry and the overall industry from further damage.
Muzzamil Sabri said the prevailing structure of taxes and duties on POL products was also encouraging smuggling of these products from neighbouring country. He said that the government should consider withdrawing 7.5 percent Customs duty, 27 percent sales tax and around Rs.8 per litre Petroleum Development Levy on POL products to discourage smuggling of these products.
