Agriculture equipment makers reject sales tax

Seek government support in the form of duty-free import of raw material.

FAISALABAD:

A convention consisting of trade bodies of agriculture equipment manufacturers, dealers and owners rejected the imposition of 16 per cent sales tax on manufacturing and sales of agricultural equipment, fearing that the move would increase the price of such equipment by 50 per cent.

The convention, held on Monday, was attended by over a dozen bodies of the agricultural implement manufacturers, unit owners and dealers from all parts of the country to consider the implications for equipment manufacturing and sales.

They pointed out that in order to increase per acre yield of crops, there had to be a shift from manual techniques to mechanised farming. They also felt that the agricultural equipment manufacturing sector required government support, in the form of duty-free import of raw material, in order to further increase the durability and efficiency of tools.

According to them, it was also important to improve the skills of workers and garner government support, but the reality was that the sector was financially burdened and the farming community was discouraged to shift towards mechanised techniques.

They claimed that 400,000 workers were working in agricultural equipment manufacturing units, who would be left with no option but to shut down units, if the proposed sales tax was not withdrawn immediately.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2011.