LAHORE: All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has requested the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Industries Ministry to devise a system to supervise dispatches at cement factories.
The APCMA spokesman said that a wrong impression has been given in a few newspapers (not Customs Today) that cement sector was involved in tax evasion and has to pay Rs 29.72 billion income tax.
He said that despite being a huge contributor to GDP in the shape of direct and indirect taxes/duties, the sector is being made a target of baseless criticism and accused of tax evasion.
The spokesman said, “Such baseless allegations do not carry weight as many factors are missing and no input is taken from the industry experts while giving a generalised verdict against the industry.”
He added that cement sector was one of the few documented sectors of Pakistan and had internal and external audits from well-reputed chartered firms.
The APCMA also deplored that the issues impeding the actual growth potential of the cement sector have not yet been addressed by the government. He added that the overall growth of the sector was commendable keeping in view the overall turmoil in the economy.
A cement manufacturer said that the gas load shedding would not hit the cement industry badly as the sector has been equipped with new technology and has energy-mix plants.
