Pre-fabricated steel building manufacturers have demanded of the government to reduce duties on raw material. A delegation of manufacturers on Thursday met Imtiaz Rastgar, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Engineering Development Board (EDB) and sought tariff protection for development of the industry, said a statement.
The delegation also demanded to increase duty on finished products, which has been reduced in the budget from 25 percent to 5 percent.
Rastgar asked the manufacturers to form an association on learning lines so that the government and customers could be educated about the industry. He assured that EDB would not only recommend to rationalise duty structure but also make a long-term policy for development of the industry especially expansion of the market.
He said that EDB will take up the case with the concerned authorities about building codes and standards for pre-fabricated steel structure. He was informed that currently, the industry was following the American standards in the absence of Pakistani standards.
The meeting was told that 40 plazas in Lahore were being constructed using steel pre-fabricated material including forty floor IT Plaza. It was also agreed that the group would provide a formula to rationalise custom duty on the import of pre-fabricated steel buildings keeping in view the fluctuations of the steel prices in the international market.
The meeting was also attended by S. M. Adil Shah, General Manager (Steel), Abdur Razzaq, General Manager (Tariff), Javed Ashraf Malik and Ajmal Sharif, Dy General Managers EDB.