LAHORE: The LCCI president Malik Tahir Javaid has said that issue of Regulatory Duty on imports is near to be resolved as high government funcionaries have given assurance in this regard.
“I had important meetings with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, PM Assitant on Revenue Haroon Akhter, Federal Minister for Industries & Production Ghulam Murtaza Khan Jatoi, Chairman NA Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue & Economic Affairs Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Chairman FBR & Member Customs FBR Zahid Khokhar and demanded total withdrawl of Regulatory Duty on imports. Good news is that they had principally agreed to move in favor of business community”, the LCCI president told the delegation of businessmen here at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
Malik Tahir Javaid said that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry is active from the very first day on Regulatory Duty and meeting the people sitting on the helm of affairs and informing them that RD on various essential items including raw materials would harm the economy which already under pressure due to rupee devaluation, heavy borrowing, high trade deficit and poor ranking in ease of doing business.
He said that new Regulatory Duty regime would be hardly doing any service to the economy. Federal Board of Revenue should totally withdraw the recently imposed Regulatory Duty otherwise its destruction would be beyoned the imaginations. He said that since various imported raw materials are being used in the local industries for manufacturing and exporting of goods therefore Regulatory Duty on these important inputs would add to the miseries of export-oriented industries. Resultantly, he said, exports would be continued to sink.
While sharing his point of view with the Parliamentarians, the LCCI president said that business community is already suffering because of undue delay in payment of refunds and high cost of doing business and cannot afford to bear heavy burden of Regulatory Duty that is imposed without keeping in view the ground realities.
The LCCI President said that principally Regulatory Duty is imposed on such products where local industry needs protection. The LCCI understands that protection of local industry is important for any state as it provides employment opportunities and contribute sizeable amount of revenue to national exchequer. But business community fails to understand that why Regulatory Duty is imposed on import of raw materials and other goods which are either not locally manufactured or produced in very small quantity as compared to their imports.
He said that if Regulatory Duty is not withdrawn totally it would also adversely affect the industrial sector. On the other hand it would open flood gate of smuggling and under invoicing that are already causing huge financial loss to the national kitty.
