Contested: PVC manufacturers challenge trade act in court

IHC Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi summons all parties on October 5

ISLAMABAD: The All Pakistan PVC Pipe Manufacturers Association (APPMA) has sought court intervention to nullify new amendments to the foreign trade act regarding the import of plastic waste.

The association has challenged SRO 149 (1) 2015 in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), asking the court to declare it unenforceable, illegal and beyond the scope of the Imports and Exports Control Act, Pakistan Environmental Protection Action and the constitution.

IHC Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi has summoned all concerned parties on October 5 (Monday), including the commerce and climate change secretaries, and the directors general of the Pakistan Environmental Agency (Pak-EPA), Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority.

According to the petition, industrial importers must get environmental approval for the import of recyclable plastic scrap, and an annual environmental audit report approved by the respective EPAs.

In addition, importers must provide a certificate confirming appropriate manufacturing facilities and import quotas from federal and provincial EPAs.

Moreover, technically-qualified companies, designated by the government, will regularly check imported consignments for hazardous waste under the terms of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.

PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) scrap is used as raw material in the manufacture of piping and furniture. It is also used in tunnel farming.

Around 50,000 tons of waste, pairing and plastic scraps have been imported by industrialists since 2009.

According to the association, PVC is more environmentally friendly than other raw materials.

The PVC manufactures said that initially, the ministry of commerce allowed the import of scrap through SRO 776 (1) in September 2009, with certain conditions. On February 19, through SRO 149(1), the government made amendments, according to which, authorities may randomly test any consignment.

As a signatory to the Basel Convention, Pakistan must comply with controls regarding trans-boundary movement and disposal of hazardous waste to ensure that it is not marked as PVC scrap and exported to countries.

The association has said that the petitioners do not fall under the category of manufactures, claiming that they only manage plastic scrap recycling businesses and only import scrap for manufacturing affordable PVC pipes and other related products.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2015.