ISLAMABAD: The National Tariff Commission (NTC) has informed the National Assembly standing committee of commerce that the it has successfully linked its system with Pakistan Custom’s WeBOC for immediate collection of duty. Meeting of the Standing Committee on Commerce and Textile was held under the chairmanship of Siraj Muhammad Khan, MNA in Parliament House, Islamabad, on Thursday. The Chairman Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) briefed the Committee about performance of the PTB and supply of uncertified tobacco seeds to the farmers.
The chairman PTB said that the main objective of establishment of the board was to promote tobacco cultivation on scientific line through research and development for meeting the domestic and foreign demands of quality tobacco. He also apprised the committee about the regulatory functions of the board and exports of raw tobacco and its finished products.
He apprised that PTB had developed varieties of tobacco and would be distributed to the farmers which would not only enhance the tobacco yield but also be pest resistant. He informed that the PTB held awareness campaigns for the farmers to avoid cultivation of non-recommended tobacco varieties. The committee directed the PTB to focus on its R&D activities for developing other varieties which were suitable for cultivation in local climate.
The committee also asked the PTB to explore possibilities of converting tobacco curing barns from traditional wood fired to solar powered in order to address the environmental degradation and reduce the pressure on depleting forests. The Committee was later briefed about the organizational structure and working of the National Tariff Commission (NTC).
The representative of NTC apprised the committee that the Commission had addressed various issues of tariff protection and anomalies on the basis of its research studies conducted by involving all stakeholders in the matter. He further apprised that PTC law had increased the jurisdiction of its anti-dumping Appellate Tribunal of PTC, and it had initiated 120 anti-dumping duty cases out of which 70 had been disposed of. He further apprised that the Commission had successfully linked its system with Pakistan Custom’s we BOC for immediate collection of duty. The meeting was attended by Mr. Muhammad Pervaiz Malik, Minister for Commerce and Textile, MNAs Ch. Asad-ur-Rehman, Ms. Shaheen Shafiq, Ms. Tahira Aurangzeb, Ms. Zeb Jaffar, Ms. Shahzadi Umerzadi Tiwana, Dr. Mehreen Razaque Bhutto, Mr. Nazir Ahmed Bughio, Ms. Mussarat Ahmad Zeb, Ms. Sajida Begum, Secretary, Commerce Division and Senior Officers of the concerned departments.
