Voicing concern over smuggling of tyres from neighbouring country into the Pakistan, the local tyre industry said that the menace of smuggling was badly affecting growth of the local industry. Sources in the local industry said that Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) with a view to checking the menace of smuggling of tyres of cars and buses should take action against the people involved in this illegal business.
"Such a move on the part of FBR would, on the one hand, promote local tyre industry and, on the other, attract foreign and domestic investment in the country," they opined. They also urged the government to ensure uninterrupted gas and electricity supply to the local tyre industry, besides improving law and order situation. Elaborating, they said that the above mentioned problems, including some anomalies in existing tariff structure, were also causing hindrances for the growth of local tyre industry.
The sources said that India taking undue advantage of smuggling of tyres into Pakistan was offering incentives to global tyre manufacturers, thereby strengthening their existence in the Indian market. They demanded of the government to promote local tyre industry by directing its departments and industries to purchase tyres only from local industries.
An official of General Tyres said that the company's primary objective was to manufacture tyres of international quality for all types of vehicles so that government could save millions of dollars currently being spent on importing tyres. "The company was, on the one hand, paying huge amount under the head of taxes and, on the other, earning much needed foreign exchange for the country by exporting its tyres," he said, adding that General Tyres was also exporting its tyres to Afghanistan, Syria and Bangladesh.