KARACHI: The steel melters have asked the country’s top revenue authority to impose regulatory duty, sales tax on import of steel products to save the local industry.
The Pakistan Steel Melters Association (PSMA) said that by increasing taxation on imported products, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will be able to mop up the surpluses on imported products and gain maximum revenue, as domestic units will ramp up production.
The PSMA representatives said, “With 5 million tons of steel capacity in our country, a 10% increase in industry capacity utilisation will result in an additional 500,000 tons of domestic steel output and revenue generation for FBR of over Rs 3 billion. By providing an environment of fair competition where the inputs of each sector is equalized by levying the appropriate amount of tax on each segment, industry capacity utilization will increase. Moreover, considering a conservative billet import figure of 250,000 tons, FBR stands to gain at least 3 billion rupees via direct taxation on imports through additional taxation at import stage to balance the sector.”
