Displaying items by tag: Federal Board of Revenue

Pakistan: The All Pakistan Cement Dealers Association has suspended sales of cement in protest against ‘unjustifiable’ taxes. Asif Saeed, the president of the association, has accused the government and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) of levying ‘numerous’ taxes on the cement sector, according to the Business Recorder newspaper. He claimed that the association’s members will remain on strike until their demands are met.

Pakistan: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has found that Zeal Pak Cement dodged paying US$19.7m to the authorities via tax evasion and money laundering schemes. As well as underpaying tax on imports of cement the cement producer also sent money to Iran, according to the National Herald Tribune newspaper. The FBR was alerted to the malpractice mid-way through importing a 86,500t consignment of Ordinary Portland Cement that was subsequently impounded. Zeal Pak Cement is also accused of fabricating false invoices and other documents.

Pakistan: The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has asked the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to exclude cement from the 'Third schedule' of the Sales Tax act or to fix the maximum retail price (MRP) on the basis of two different zones in the upcoming budget of 2014 - 2015.

In a letter to the FMR chairman the APCMA said, that as the dynamics of every province and region are different, collection of sales tax on the basis of a single MRP across the country would force producers to restrict sales to nearby markets. It added that this would restrict sales to further-away markets reducing the potential revenues the FBR could collect.

The APCMA has proposed a zone-based MRP to protect both local consumers from paying excess prices and producers from paying more to sell cement in outlying markets. It also asked the FBR to introduce a uniform tax rate for the corporate sector.

Cement in Pakistan is subject to various taxes including: Corporate Income Tax - 34% of taxable income; Minimum tax – 1% of turnover; Federal excise duty (FED) – US$3.8/t; and Sales Tax 17% of the MRP. The APCMA has also proposed removing the FED and reducing the duty on alternative fuels to zero. Further suggestions included restoring the initial allowance on plants and machinery to 50% (from 25% at present) to encourage production capacity development and reducing import taxes on raw materials and capital goods for industrial development from 5 to 1%.