KHAIRPUR: The increase in regulatory duty up to 20 per cent on import of tiles and sanitary wares is feared to result in unemployment of 1 million people besides affecting businesses of around 10,000 traders.
This was stated by All Pakistan Tiles and Sanitary Merchants Association Chairman Mohammad Amin Lasania along with other members at a press conference at Karachi Press Club on Saturday. Lasania said that the government had imposed regulatory duty with an aim to curtail import of unnecessary and non-essential items, but it had enhanced the regulatory duty on tiles and sanitary wares to 45 per cent from 25 per cent.
He said that the situation had further aggravated with the imposition of anti-dumping duty ranging 10-37 per cent. “The total duty and taxes on imports of tiles and sanitary wares have increased to all-time high of 135 per cent from 83 per cent,” he added.
He said that the imposition of regulatory duty along with anti-dumping duty had increased the cost of construction by 12 to 15 per cent per square meter, whereas the cost of business in tiles and sanitary ware industry had also increased by 100 per cent.
Lasania said that the organised sector of tiles and sanitary ware could only meet local demand of 25 to 30 per cent and the remaining is met through imported tiles and sanitary ware. He criticised Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for achieving revenue targets through stopgap arrangements instead of making long-term business-friendly policies. The short-term revenue generation policies are discouraging the local businesses and will result in further decline in revenue.
The chairman on the behalf of importers, wholesalers and retailers rejected the 20 per cent regulatory duty and 37 per cent anti-dumping duty and demanded FBR and National Tariff Commission (NTC) to immediately withdraw notifications i.e. SRO 1035(I)/2017 and NTC notification 45/2016.
He said: “If such notifications are not withdrawn then importers, wholesalers and retailers of tiles and sanitary wares will be compelled to shut down their businesses, which will not only decline the revenue but also cause unemployment of 1 million people attached to this industry.”
