Displaying items by tag: Tax

Philippines: The Cement Importers Association of the Philippines (CIAP) has filed a petition before the court of tax appeals requesting that the government refunds their past cement safeguard duty payments. The Manila Bulletin newspaper has reported that CIAP members say that the duty is unlawful as imports pose no threat to the domestic cement industry. The total sum for which importers are seeking reimbursement is US$25.4m.

The three-year imposition of duties by the government’s Department of Trade and Industry ends in 2022.

Vietnam: The Ministry of Finance has proposed increasing the export tariff for clinker to 10% from 5%. The ministry said that exports of cement and clinker were not sustainable as they use non-renewable resources, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. It added that cement producers also benefit from low electricity prices. Customs data shows that the country exported nearly 33Mt of cement and clinker in 2020. 22Mt or 73% of this total consisted of clinker.

Hungary: The government has imposed a 90% tax on the excess profits of some building materials producers to prevent rising prices. It applies to companies that produce cement, lime, gypsum, chalk, gravel, sand and clay that had an annual revenue over Euro8.4m in 2019, according to the MTI news agency. Producers will be liable for a 90% ‘mining allowance’ on the difference between revenue generated using their own prices and threshold prices set in the decree. The threshold price for cement has been set at Euro56/t.

The government has also ordered that companies report the export of ‘strategic’ construction materials including cement, gypsum wallboard, gravel and steel products. The related decree also gives the state pre-emption rights for the materials that have been reported at a price "in line with their current market value." Failure to comply with the reporting obligation may result in seizure of the construction materials and fines up to Euro14,000.

US: The Boston Globe newspaper has reported that the single biggest threat to the US government’s planned industrial reinvigoration based around a US$2.2tn federal infrastructure spending plan is a shortage of resources. The newspaper named a lack of workers and cement mills as particular concerns. It reported that the National Association of Home Builders has called for tariffs to be cut for certain key building materials such as lumber and that more cement should be imported.

EU: The European Commission is reportedly planning to introduce its carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) for cement imports from 2023. Reporting by Bloomberg has revealed that a ‘simplified’ system could be used in a transition period from 2023 with the full mechanism due to start in 2026. Under the new system, cement importers would have to buy certificates at a price linked to the European Union (EU) emissions trading system (ETS). Details on the CBAM and wider environmental plans are due to be made public in mid-July 2021. However, full legal acceptance of the scheme will require approval by the European Parliament and member states.

In a previous response to a report on the CBAM in February 2021, Koen Coppenholle, the head of the European Cement Association (Cembureau), said that a CBAM was a useful tool to address the imports of products not subject to similar carbon constraints in the European Union. He added, “The Environment Committee’s report highlights some key points in this respect, notably that a CBAM should result in EU and non-EU suppliers competing on the same CO2 costs basis; that the scope of CBAM should be wide to avoid market distortions, and that both direct and indirect emissions should be included.”

In May 2021 the EU ETS reached a price of Euro50/t following a significant rise from late 2020 onwards.

Armenia: The Armenian parliament has agreed to establish a customs duty of Euro22/t for cement and Euro3/t for clinker on imports from Iran and other countries. The government had initially hoped to imposed Euro39/t and Euro14/t on cement and clinker respectively but this was declined by the legislative body, according to the ArmInfo News Agency. Imported cement will also be recognised as licensed. The new bill will come into effect in July 2021.

A previous customs duty of Euro22/t imports of Iranian cement was set up in mid-2019. However, Iranian cement imports were then banned at the start of 2021. Production by local producers grew in 2020 and imports fell.

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement’s cement sales in the first quarter of 2021 were US$11.3m, up by 22% year-on-year from US$9.27m in the first quarter of 2020. Volumes increased by 13% to 266,000t from 236,000t. The company said that it remained close to full capacity utilisation. It says that it increased its Kazakh cement market share to over 13%. The market grew by 12% year-on-year in total. The producer reported an 11% price rise and constant levels of tariffs and rental expenses.

Steppe Cement forecast an increase in domestic cement demand due to government infrastructure and housing projects.

Kenya: Bamburi Cement, Savannah Cement, Ndovu Cement and Rai Cement have written to the National Treasury opposing a proposal by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) to raise tariffs on clinker imports to 25% from 10% at present or to implement at outright ban on imports. The cement producers say that increasing the tariffs would lead to unfair competition and destroy investments, according to the Kenyan Star newspaper. However, the KAA argues that the move will promote the manufacturing sector and create jobs.

Seddiq Hassani, the managing director of Bamburi Cement, said in a letter from the cement producers to the government, that they opposed the review at the current time but that they conceded that it was the right direction for the industry in the longer term to safeguard local manufacturing. He added that the four companies should be given a window of between four and five years to set up their own integrated plants to provide a predictable policy framework for investors.

Uzbekistan: The government has suspended tariffs on cement imports from all countries until 1 October 2021. The UzDaily newspaper has reported that the suspension is part of a raft of measures aimed at ‘providing the population with housing’ by bolstering construction. The measures consist of funding for multi-story housing developments, a separate trading exchange for cement and the roll-out of a new standard design for residential buildings from 1 May 2021.

Philippines: The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has issued an order amending its previous order on cement safeguards. The Manila Bulletin newspaper has reported that the amendment extends safeguard measures to 13 new countries which now exceed the necessary 3% import volume share. These are Chile, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Israel, Indonesia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and South Korea. Imported cement from these countries will now face a safeguard duty of US$0.2/bag. An official source quoted by the newspaper called the surge in importation from these countries "trade diversion" tactics by importers since these countries were previously exempt from the safeguard duty.