LAHORE: The cement manufacturers have urged the government to decrease import duty on coal to zero level.
The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association, in a statement, said that reduction in import duty would keep open the option of using coal as alternative source of energy.
The recent increase in duty on import of coal from 1 percent to 6 percent has adversely hit the local manufacturers and has drastically increased cost of doing business. The government had enacted the Gas Infrastructural Development Act of 2011 (2011 Act), whereby the government charged a cess to all gas consumers except those of the domestic sector,’ the cement manufacturers added.
‘We request that the charge/levy GIDC should be abolished ab-initio. It has increased the cost of doing business of the industrial sector. Further in current market scenario of declining fuel prices including liquefied natural gas in the international markets it will render domestic products uncompetitive in export markets,’ they said.
