The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has failed to take any enforcement measure to check the massive smuggling of computers, which has created serious problems for the organised sector within the documented regime.
In a presentation prepared for FBR here, Mohammad Yasin, Senior Vice President of Pakistan Computer Association (PCA) Karachi raised serious reservations over the anti-smuggling policy where loopholes resulted in illicit trade of the low quality computers in the local market. The FBR has reversed its tax policy of lowering duties, which encourage documented imports due to low cost of import. The existing tax policies are encouraging dangerous trend of smuggling.
He said that the crisis in the stock market, high interest rates and declining purchasing power of the common man had resulted in substantial fall in the sales of computer and computer accessories in all markets throughout the country, especially during last six months. The menace of smuggling has further hampered the legitimate business in computer industry.
Besides, GST factor had indirectly promoted the massive smuggling in computer industry. Hence, computer industry on the one hand was facing closure of the business and, on the other, the government exchequer was being deprived of revenue.
The SVP of PCA Karachi Chapter said that during the period of last six months, the business in computer industry had declined to the extent that more than 50 percent of the players in the industry had either closed down their business or were facing unprecedented crisis due to non-availability of buyers in the market.
He said that although the current economic crisis was not limited to computer industry only, but the latter is affected by it at most for the reason that the economic crisis has manifold the problems of the industry after the imposition of GST on this vital but nascent sector of the economy. Since then, he said, the smuggled computer items in markets throughout the country had played havoc with the regular business here.
As far as specific measures to revive computer industry were concerned, he said, the government should control the curse of smuggling and review its current taxation policy in accordance with ground realities and for the betterment of computer users who are mostly students, and who are being deprived of this basic learning facility due to non-affordability factor.