ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Steel Melters Association expressed concern over the levy of 5 percent Regulatory Duty on the import of steel and iron scrap, and said that the move taken by the Federal Board of Revenue was an undue burden on the steel melting industry.
Following an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the federal government introduced major budgetary steps by taxing over 285 importable items, including furnace oil used in power generation, and increasing tax rates on all services.
The move has created an anomaly of tariff between the ship breaking and steel melting sectors, said a spokesman of Pakistan Steel Melters Association. This action goes in favour of ship breaking which will play havoc with the melting industry and can cause a large scale closure of all steel melting units located in different areas including Lahore and Gujranwala, he added.
The federal government has levied five percent Regulatory Duty on the import of steel and iron scrap to mop up revenue but in haste it has failed to impose the same levy on the ship breaking sector which is a competitive sector versus steel melting sector, he said.
