ISLAMABAD: Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood on Thursday discussed issues related to tariff rationalisations.
Presiding over 16th meeting of the Tariff Policy Board (TPB), the Advisor reiterated the importance given by the government to the "Make in Pakistan" initiative led economic growth. In order to achieve this objective, import duties on 1,623 tariff lines, pertaining to basic raw material and intermediate goods had been reduced to zero through the Finance Act, 2020.
In continuation of this policy, additional customs duties and Regulatory Duties on 164 items related to textile sector, not manufactured in Pakistan, had been recently removed by the Federal Cabinet. In order to move forward and to remove additional customs duties on remaining raw materials, not manufactured in Pakistan, different proposals were discussed by the members of TPB.
The members of TPB opined that there is an urgent need to remove anomalies in the tariff structure so that cost of doing business could be reduced by providing cheap raw materials to the industrial sector. This would also help to improve competitiveness of exports vis-à-vis trading partners of Pakistan. The TPB approved further working on 152 tariff lines for removal of additional customs duty.
The National Tariff Commission (NTC) Chairperson briefed the members of TPB on progress, made so far, in conducting study of plastics sector.
The Advisor stressed that sectoral studies ought to be completed within the given time line so that tariffs rationalizations could be done in those sectors by taking into account the recommendations of the studies.-PR
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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