ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, under the chairmanship of Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, has increased import duties on sugar and wheat to discourage decline in their prices.
The ECC increased the regulatory duty on import of sugar from 20 to 40 per cent while regulatory duty on import of wheat was increased from 25 per cent to 40 per cent.
The meeting, despite showing dissatisfaction over performance of the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), approved payment of two-month salary to its employees.
The ECC meeting also decided to grant 30 per cent refunds to thousands of defaulters of electricity bills. The Ministry of Water and Power had informed the ECC that about Rs182 billion could be recovered from private consumers for bills dating back to the period from July 2009 to July 2012, however the committee allowed some relaxation for them. The ministry proposed that a 50 per cent rebate be allowed to the defaulter who wished to clear the dues next month.
The ECC also granted five per cent cash reward to the personnel of the law-enforcement agencies, who are helping the companies recover the amount, against the proposed 10 per cent incentive.
