ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Finance has imposed 12.5 per cent regulatory duty on the imports of tubes, pipes, hollow profiles of cast iron, and hollow profiles of iron (other than cast iron) or steel and flat rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel with (width of 600mm or more) with the objective of protecting the local steel industry.
The ministry imposed the regulatory duty on auto parts raw material through SRO 246(1)/2015.
About imposition of duty, Pakistan Association of Auto Parts Manufacturers Chairman Siddique Misri said that on the one hand, FBR has imposed 12.5% regulatory duty on various steel materials mainly used by auto parts manufacturers while, on the other hand, large re-rolling steel mills have been totally exempted from the duty within the same SRO.
Misri explained that imposition of regulatory duty on auto parts manufacturers (APMs) is totally unfair and unjustified, as they are also manufacturers and the above items are also being imported by them as raw materials. It is relevant that above items are imported by APMs under SRO 655(I)/2006, as these are not manufactured in Pakistan. This fact has been fully verified and certified by Engineering Development Board, he said and added that each and every import is monitored by the customs’ WEBOC system.
Paapam Senior Vice Chairman Mumshad Ali said that the local APMs will suffer huge losses due to this levy, resulting in closures of industries, creating large scale unemployment and bringing localization of auto parts to a halt. PAAPAM members urged the FBR to remove this anomaly and demanded that all auto parts manufacturers must also be exempted from levy of this regulatory duty.
