Pakistan Business Council opposes hasty reduction in customs duty

The Pakistan Business Council (PBC) has urged the government not to make hasty decisions on reducing customs duties without comprehensively studying the implications on imports and unemployment. In a meeting with the secretary commerce and senior officials of the ministries of commerce, industries, finance and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in Islamabad on Tuesday, PBC Chief Executive Ehsan Malik said a decision to curtail import duties should factor in the need to offset the high cost of manufacturing, foremost amongst which is the cost of energy, high interest rates, absence of long-term financing, difficulty in obtaining foreign exchange to import plant, poor infrastructure, low productivity, disproportionate burden of taxes on the formal sector, a level playing field versus the informal sector, regulatory drag, and weak protection from dumping.