Advisor to Prime Minister on Trade and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood has expressed that the removal of custom duties in the chemical sector would make the industry more competitive.

“Our policy regarding reducing customs duties on raw material is certainly showing results,” said Dawood, as the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) in a meeting, removed additional customs duty on 152 tariff lines in mainly the chemical sector.

“This will be one more step in making our chemical industry more competitive for both local market as well as exports. These tariff reductions were done after extensive consultations with the stakeholders and I hope its benefits will start showing results,” he added.

The ECC of the Cabinet has approved the removal of two percent additional customs duties on 152 tariff lines to help industries get cheap raw material and lessen their cost of doing business.

The ECC meeting presided over by the Minister for Finance and Revenue, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, was submitted a summary by the Ministry of Commerce with regard to removal of additional two percent custom duties, mostly on raw material, under the National Tariff Policy 2019-2024 on Thursday.

The ECC approved the summary but directed that while planning important incentives for businesses and industries, the budget cycle must be observed to ease implementation during the financial year.