KARACHI:
The shipbreaking industry has urged the government to withdraw controversial
notifications issued recently by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and provide
a level-playing field against the steel re-melting industry.
The
Pakistan Ship Breakers Association (PSBA) staged a protest outside the Karachi
Press Club (KPC), where it warned the FBR that if their demands stayed unmet,
they will be left with no choice but to close down the industry.
Later,
while speaking to journalists at a press conference, the PSBA alleged that
their industry was being discriminated against by the FBR.
“An
attempt is being made to cripple the shipbreaking industry, which provides
direct employment to over25,000 workers in the underdeveloped region of
Balochistan at Gadani,” PSBA alleged.
PSBA
said that the FBR gave undue advantage in the rates of income tax and sales tax
to the steel re-melting industry through recently issued statutory regulatory
order (SRO) 140(1)/2013 and SRO 243(1)/2013 dated March 26, 2013.
Elaborating
on the SROs, PSBA Chairman Dewan Rizwan Farooqui said, “Previously, the shipbreaking
industry had been paying 1% income tax, but now we have been asked to pay 5%,
which means an increase of 500% in income tax.”
The
other notification, SRO 243, removed shipbreaking industry from the ambit of
special procedures.
Farooqui
said that since both industries were in direct competition, the FBR’s
notification had given one an advantage over the other. “This could become the
cause of closure of the shipbreaking business,” he said.
The
PSBA warned that if FBR does not withdraw the notifications, the shipbreaking
industry will be forced to close down operations and this will directly hit the
construction industry as prices of steel will shoot up from Rs65,000 per ton
presently to Rs80,000 per ton.
Source: The Express Tribune. 3 April 2013
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