The Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, which met on Wednesday with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in the chair, took a number of decisions, mostly of popular appeal, though punctuated by some others that may sound irksome or controversial in certain quarters.
Prominent among the first category are reduced customs duty to zero percent on import of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and withdrawal of Rs 60 per bag import subsidy on cement, along with imposition of 15 percent regulatory duty on the export of Gur.
Mention, in this regard, may also be made of the decision to extend one-time incentive to promote medical tourism, hotels and chain departmental stores. In so far as the decision on LPG is concerned, as Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan, Economic Advisor to Finance Ministry, explained to journalists, it was owed to its rising prices, leading to massive suffering in remote rural areas and small towns where piped gas was not available.
According to him zero rating of import of LPG was prompted by the urge to improve supply position and to stabilise prices to the relief of already distressed consumers. More to this, it also asked the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) to keep vigilance on the middlemen to check their wide profit margins.
Similarly, he justified the decision to withdraw the subsidy of Rs 60 per 50-kg bag of cement by referring to substantial reduction of its per bag prices, as noted in November, had served its purpose.
Again, according to him, robust increase in the demand of cement as a sequel to enhanced construction activity, the industry is now poised to meet the future needs, thereby beckoning the government to ensure use of surplus cement in road-building.
For this the Ministry of Communications has been asked to submit a summary in the next meeting. Dilating upon the imposition of 15 percent regulatory duty on export of Gur, he attributed it to massive diversion of sugarcane crop to mechanised Gur-making, which had been hurting the sugar industry.
It touched the highest level last year when a major portion of the sugarcane crop in Peshawar Valley went into this activity. Among other welcome decisions of the ECC, reference may be made to the extension of one-time incentive to promote medical tourism, besides hotels and chain departmental stores.
As for the ECC's approval of the Renewable Energy Policy, needless to point out, its implementation from an objectively conceived, and scientific thrust, can certainly help set the pace for rapid expansion in the use of alternate energy in the country, thereby also enhancing the prospect of addressing the problem of distressing shortage of energy which has been hampering purposeful economic development for decades together.
As against the above cited populist and business friendly approaches, which are apt to inspire confidence in respective sectors, the approval of duty-free import of Black Cabs with the new nomenclature of 'Purpose-built Taxis', and passenger buses, can, however, leave many intrigued. For, as pointed out in a BR report, duty-free import of taxis has been allowed on the analogy of sales tax concessions allowed to trucks, dumpers and road tractors.
Moreover, the Revenue Board, in its summary, is reported to have noted that in the metropolitan areas, a large number of people still used private vehicles, mainly because of poor conditions of taxis/cabs, and that excessive use of private vehicles was leading to road congestion and parking problems, besides causing higher fuel consumption.
The ECC also approved duty-free import of buses, including CNG buses in CBU and CKD condition classified under PCT heading 8702. However, the buses have been specified which should have the capacity of 40 persons and above.
The CBR said that buses "are still the cheapest available option" for the public as compared to other transport means, and their duty-free import could help overcome the transport problems faced by the common man. By that as it may, in so far as black cabs are concerned, they have already become controversial, more so, with political connotations. Now that they seem to be promoted under a new identity, it can make confusion worse confounded.