The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has rued the illegal import of cement from Iran and tax evasions at import stage by misdeclaration which is seriously affecting the cement industry, and urged the government to stop this trade immediately.
APCMA spokesman said on Wednesday that unfortunately, the quantity of cement being imported from Iran has been found understated on the Customs "Goods Declaration" form resulting in a substantial loss to the national exchequer. This is all done through collusion of dealers with Customs department's Officials and transporters - not all the tax is being paid on the import of the Iranian cement.
He said a road trailer entering Pakistan via the Taftan Border carried up to 60 tonnes of cement though proper taxation had never been carried out since the quantity mentioned in the Goods Declaration form differed from the actual weight of the consignment.
He further said, "At present the country's surplus cement production capacity is more than 20 million tonnes per annum and it is coming under further pressure because of the illegal import of the cement. It is not only damaging the local industry but also through misdeclaration giving a substantial loss to the national exchequer."
He urged the government to intervene and take effective steps to stop the illegal cement import and protect the local cement industry by including cement in negative list of import items so that the country's surplus production capacity could be used to the maximum.
"This will help to increase the economic growth in the country and will also curb malpractices at different levels," he added.
He also said the cement dispatches to domestic markets during the month of March 2015 increased by 3.89 percent to 2.56 million tonnes compared with 2.46 million tonnes during the same month last year. Exports during March 2015 showed a massive decline by 39 percent as the volumes dropped to 443,000 tonnes against 726,000 tonnes during March 2014. The total dispatches during March 2015 were three million tonnes compared to 3.189 million tonnes in the same month last year showing a reduction of 5.86 percent mainly because of declining exports.
In the first nine months of current fiscal year, the cement industry dispatched 20.34 million tonnes in local markets posting a growth of 8.43 percent compared with the local dispatches in the same period of the last fiscal year that were 18.76 million tonnes. Exports from the country declined by 9.58 percent to 5.44 million tonnes compared with exports in the first nine months of last year. The overall situation during first three quarters of the current fiscal year showed a 4.06-percent growth compared to the same period of last fiscal year as the total dispatches increased to 25.78 million tonnes against 24.78 million tonnes from July 2013 to March 2014.
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