ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will fix minimum value on supply of sugar for the purpose of sales tax calculation in consultation with the industry.

Sources told Business Recorder on Sunday that the FBR has constantly been engaged with the industry on the issue and taking input of the concerned industry for finalisation of the said issue.

In a communication to the FBR, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) had proposed that there should be no minimum value for fixation of sugar. Furthermore, input/ proposals have been again sought by FBR for sugar value fixation by December 05, 2022.

Sufficient stocks of sugar available in Pakistan, Finance Division told

The industry pleaded that FBR cannot exercise unbridled, unstructured and discretionary power under proviso to section 2(46) of the Sales Tax Act to fix ex-mill sugar value.

The rate of sugar is not uniform throughout the season/ country and in fact fluctuates on monthly and even weekly/ daily basis and may vary on same day within same/ different cities making all such efforts to fix a uniform or notional price of sugar (even for purposes of sales tax calculation) arbitrary, absurd, discriminatory and unreasonable, the industry added.

It is reiterated that prices should not be set by the Government at all and should be determined by market forces of supply and demand. Similarly, the FBR should not fix any minimum value of supply for sugar, it urged.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022