LAHORE - The Punjab Plastic Importers and Manufacturers Association has urged the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to immediately bring down rate of Sales Tax to five per cent from 16 percent on Plastic moulding compound as unchecked smuggling of the Plastic Compound from Iran by land route is hitting the plastic businesses hard.
They said that the unchecked smuggling of plastic moulding compound is not only causing a loss of Rs 25 billion annually to the exchequer but also causing closure of plastic businesses in the country.
Punjab Plastic and Manufacturers Association delegation in a meeting with LCCI President Farooq Iftikhar said that it is very surprising that on one hand the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) authorities were playing arm-twisting with the exiting taxpayers while on the other hand the menace of smuggling is fast spreading its tentacles under their watch and at the cost of the exchequer.
The delegates said that the authorities concerned should immediately ban import of Polyethene and Polyproplene from Iran via land route from any border of Pakistan as at present these products are available in the local market at Rs 20 per kilogramme below the imported price that is very damaging for the local businessmen.
They informed that the association had already sent letters to the FBR that the smuggling of polymers from Iran was not only causing a huge loss to the government but was also badly damaging the local investors who are running their businesses through clean documentation. They said that only because of these unscrupulous elements it has become almost impossible for the genuine businessmen to continue their businesses.
Speaking on the occasion, the LCCI president Farooq Iftikhar said that the LCCI would extend full cooperation to the FBR if it initiates a strict action against such black sheep who are not only challenging the writ of the law but also denting the economy in a big way.