FPCCI budget proposals: Tyre company expresses dismay

Company says suggestions were mostly in favour of small-scale traders.

KARACHI:

General Tyre has expressed its dismay over the budget proposals of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) in which it urged the government to reduce duties on tyre imports.

FPCCI in its budget proposals for fiscal year 2014-15 had asked FBR to reduce duties on tyre imports.

The company – one of the few tyre manufacturers in Pakistan – in a letter written to FPCCI President Zakaria Usman said that FPCCI budget suggestions were mostly in favour of traders who just import tyres and do not play any significant part in stabilising macroeconomic indicators.

General Tyre also disagreed with FPCCI’s suggestion to reduce the duty on items that are prone to smuggling. “Smuggling can be greatly minimised by solid administrative controls as it is done all over the world and depriving the government its legitimate revenue by reducing the duties is not an option,” said the letter.

“Reduction in duty will only hit the government revenues because the government has already been getting only 20% or thereabouts of actual revenues because of rampant under-invoicing,” the letter alleged.

The letter also highlighted that the local tyre industry has the potential to meet the demand of the tyre market. The company further noted that the FPCCI, being the premier body in the country, does not even have proper import statistics.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2014.

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