December 23, 2016
Chairman Businessmen Panel and Pakistan Business Group Alliance of FPCCI and Former Provincial Minister Mian Zahid Hussain, Presidential Candidate Abdul Rahim Janoo, Candidate for Sr. Vice President Mian Anjum Nisar for FPCCI Elections 2017 & Chief Convener Election Cell Syed Abdul Waheed Shah on Friday said paper industry can fulfil all the domestic needs and help country earn hefty foreign exchange if it is patronized.
Government should take steps to make paper and board industry competitive through incentives which will also help the education sector, they said.
Talking to a delegation of All Pakistan Paper Merchants Association, they said that there are 1300 units working in formal sector while 15000 units are working in informal sector which should be streamlined.
One of the biggest hurdle faced by this industry is that tax authorities consider imported material as finished product which attract heavy duties, they informed.
The business leaders said that paper industry pay around 53 percent of the cost in taxes including 21 percent customs duty which increase cost of doing business and cost of the finished product.
They noted that there are some anomalies in the taxation system with regard to this industry resulting in frequent litigation which result in losses to the industry and the exchequer.
They also said that all the local and multinational companies are satisfied with the quality of paper provided to them but reduction is imperative to boost exports and education in Pakistan.
Reduced taxes and improved incentives will also attract new investment in this sector while the elements dumping Far Eastern paper in Pakistan must be discouraged, they added.
