LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) urged the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) not to impose the regulatory duty on the import of raw materials and other essentials that are not being manufactured locally.
LCCI President Khawaja Khawar Rasheed, Senior Vice President Khawaja Khawar Rasheed and Vice President Zeshan Khalil, in a statement here, said the existing mechanism of the imposition of the regulatory duty on imports was not only hitting importers hard but was also depriving the government of huge revenue.
They said the imposition of any tax or duty should be progressive and added principally regulatory duty was imposed on such products where local industry needed protection.
They said the LCCI supported the imposition of the regulatory duty on luxury items so that their import might be curtailed to improve the balance of trade/payment but it was unfortunate that stakeholders, including chambers and associations, were not taken on board to select products in this respect.
They urged the chairman FBR to take all stakeholders on board before imposing a regulatory duty.