Withholding tax on purchases made from ship-breakers

I would like to bring to your kind knowledge the losses of billions of rupees being caused to the national exchequers by the owners of the steel re-melters and rolling mills, by their action of not deducting withholding tax on purchase of re-rollable scrap made from ship-breakers.
The ship-breakers are not commercial importers, but are registered in sales tax as an industry under H.S. Code 8904 (ship for breaking). Since, the ship-breakers are not commercial importers, therefore, re-rollable scrap, supplied by ship-breakers to the steel melters, re-rollers, are liable for deduction of withholding tax under section 153(1)(a).
However, most of the steel melters and re-roller companies, which are liable for deduction of tax u/s 153, are not deducting tax on purchases from ship-breakers on the ground that the ship-breakers are commercial importers and the provision of Section 153 shall not apply on them in view of the exemption available to importers as per clause (47A) of Part IV of the Second Schedule to the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. Clause (47A) is reproduced for brevity.
- (47A) The provision of Section 153 shall not apply in respect of payments received by a resident person for supply of such goods, as imported by the same person and on which tax has been paid under section 148. The above clause of exemption is not applicable to ship-breakers because, firstly, they are not commercial importers, secondly, the goods are not sold or supplied as imported by them and thirdly, ship-breaking has been defined as an industry and falls under manufacturer/producer.
In the light of the above exhaustive monitoring of withholding taxes of companies of steel melters and re-rolling mills needs to be conducted/carried out with special emphasis on purchases made by these companies from the ship-breakers.
In most of the cases of steel melters and re-roller mills, monitoring had already been completed up to the period relevant to tax year 2009, and in collaboration with the tax officials, tax consultants and these companies, no tax whatsoever had been charged u/s 162/205 of the IT Ord 2001 on the payments made to the ship-breakers without deduction of WHT.
The FBR needs to direct the concerned Commissioners, Enforcement and Collection Division, to conduct thorough and extensive audit on this issue, which will Insha Allah, result in recovery of millions of rupees required by the fund starred government at this juncture.