According to newspaper reports, the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet, which met under the chair of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar,has approved 15 percent regulatory duty on steel products and Rs 200 per set duty on mobile phones. The steel products include billets, bars and wire rods.Another five percent duty has been imposed on cold rolled coils and galvanised platted sheets.Apparently, the regulatory duty has been imposed to curb dumpingof foreign goods and boost the local industry as well generate government revenues. The levy of duty on mobile sets has been aimed to stop under invoicing by the importers.Though the local manufacturershad long been demanding the imposition of regulatory duty on steel products, it has become a routine for the government departments to find a shortcut to every problem and to generate revenuesthrough this option is not an exception. The pathetic figures of income tax collections last year indicate how a majority of the people avoids paying taxes, but taxing everything under the sun by government is also not a solution either in a broader sense. The best way to generate government revenue is to tax every individual in the country who earns a good amount of money and enjoys every facility of life on the government expenses. According to a Customs Today report, at least 2.5 percent of the members of the national and provincial assemblies have not filed their tax returns even after publishing of the tax directory. If this is the case of lawmakers, who will fix the law breakers.The Federal Board of Revenue has prepared a list of tax defaulters to launch action against tax evaders and a fiscal management cell has been established for the purpose. The board has also decided to take action against those who misused the amnesty and investment schemes of the federal government. The government steps often paint a rosy picture of a grim situation,but no positive outcome is achieved at the end. Tax evasion is a world phenomenon, but it has achieved new dimensions in Pakistan. Regarding imposition of duties and taxes on foreign goods, it is the constitutional obligation of the government to take necessary steps to protect the local industry. However, the government should also rationalize duties and taxes on the imported goods to discourage smuggling. The legal import of foreign goods can push the local manufacturers to improve standards of their products in a highly competitive market. It is also necessary to increase the capacity of security agencies deployed on the border post to prevent smuggling and damping of foreign goods. Unnecessary bottlenecks in legal imports always create a windfall for smugglers and traffickers to carry out their nefarious activities.
Building a Southwest Pacific regional organization
Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's...
