Commercial & industrial imports: Major trade bodies demand end to tax disparity

Commercial importers have called on the federal government to end the tax gap between commercial and industrial imports of raw materials, saying the disparity is driving tax avoidance, distorting the market, and leading to substantial losses in revenue for the national exchequer. Industry sources said that current tax differential, ranging between 26-28 percent total impact in comparison, is not commercially viable for genuine commercial importers. As a result, some of the importers are increasingly resorting to informal arrangements to remain competitive in the domestic market, of which the other commercial importers are unable to compete in the market.