ISLAMABAD: The government is likely to massively slash duty on abrasive cloth sheet, belts/roll, sand paper, fiber disc and buffing paper in the federal budget 2014-15 to be announced on June 3.
According to reports, local manufacturers of such products are at a disadvantage compared to importers. On the basis of analysis of available information, the National Tariff Commission (NTC) has recommended following duty on raw material: (i) waterproof base paper from 20 to five percent; (ii) organic surface agent (BYK-346) from 25 to five percent; (iii) vulcanised fiber from 25 percent to five percent; (iv) coupling agent from 20 percent to five percent; (v) kraft paper from 20 percent to five percent; and (vi) abrasive base paper from 25 percent to five percent. Ministry of Industries and Production has supported the recommendations of NTC and endorsed the above mentioned recommendations under SRO 565(1) 2006 to provide level playing field and encourage local manufacturers of such products.
Ethylene is not manufactured locally and is the main input of VCM and EDC which are being used for the production of PVC. The current entry under SRO 656(1)/ 2006 (serial number 64) covers only the manufacturing of PVC and not EDC &VCM. Hence, to encourage the local manufacturing of EDC/VCM, the Ministry of Industries and Production has recommended that existing description in column(2), SRO 565(1) 2006 against serial number 64 i.e. “PVC manufacturing industry” may be amended to read “vinyl in dustry (inter alia Ethylene Dichloride(EDC) Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) and Polyvinyl Chloride(PVC))”.
