Serious Concerns of Business Community about Recent Imposition of Regulatory Duty – Saquib Fayyaz Magoon

(Karachi P.R. 15th Nov, 2017) Saquib Fayyaz Magoon, Vice President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) urged the Ministry of Commerce to review the recent imposition of Regulatory Duty on 731 items, levied vide SRO 1035(i)/2017, dated October 16, 2017 as it has been levied on raw material not produced locally as well. This was stated by him while addressing in the meeting of FPCCI Standing Committee on Import Trade, held under the Chairmanship of Khurram Ijaz.

He lamented for not taking the FPCCI and other concerned associations into confidence while levying R.D and demanded the government that FPCCI should always be consulted in all the major policy issues related to trade and industry.

He argued that indiscriminate imposition of R.D irrespective of finished goods and raw material not produced locally, would increase their cost of import and as such it would discourage legal imports and renders them in smuggling regime and will make indigenous industry uncompetitive against the smuggled goods on the one hand and loss of revenue to the government exchequer on the other hand. He further said that the duty on the luxury items should not be increased to the extent where it provide incentive to the smuggling.

Khurram ijaz was off the opinion that imposition of R.D would not help in reducing the Trade deficit and the only solution to this problem is to increase Pakistan’s exports by slashing the cost of import of raw material not produced locally with the view to bridge the yawing gap between import and exports. He said that administrative measure taken by the government to curtail smuggling will be counter-productive after the implementation of R.D.

The Members from different industries shown their serious concerns over imposition of Regulatory Duty on Raw material not produced locally as it would further render indigenous industry uncompetitive against the onslaught of smuggled goods already available in local market.

The meeting, inter-alia, was also attended by Shabbir Mansha, Chairman, PALIMA and Tariq Zakaria, Sr. Vice Chairman, Soap Manufacturing Association.

Source: http://www.fpcci.org.pk/