20000331

All tax exemptions

to be withdrawn

in next budget: Shaukat

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that all tax exemptions will be withdrawn in the new budget which will envisage a simplified tax system based on self-assessment. The new tax system will end inter action between the tax payers and collectors and only five to 10 percent of returns will be subject to audit.

Addressing Consumex 2000, an exhibition of consumer products organised by the Pakistan Soap Manufacturers Association (PSMA) with the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) support at the EPB Expo Centre in Gulshan-e-Iqbal on Thursday, he said that if we did not learn to live within our own resources, the country's economic sovereignty could not be guaranteed.

Shaukat Aziz said that the government was curtailing its expenditures and it was now incumbent on every segment of society to pay due tax. We could not live on exemptions any longer and unless people were willing to pay tax the economy would not progress, he added.

He said that the only way to salvage the country from the present economic impasse was export which was the lifeline of the country. He said that he was happy to learn that most of the products exhibited at the display were being exported.

The minister said that he was proud to see the quality of consumer products displayed at the exhibition. "Quality is the soul of all manufacturing efforts and without quality products one cannot compete in the internal as well as external markets. Quality of branded products, their marketing and packaging require professional skills.

He stressed the need to provide help to small businessmen in professional ways of marketing and packaging.

Shaukat Aziz pointed out that the role of the private sector was to do business while the Government would act as regulator and enabler. Its main role was to facilitate businesses, mainly exports, by removing hurdles at the CBR, customs and income tax levels. " We are trying to minimise problems at the CBR level and making efforts to pay rebate and refunds instantly", he said,adding that the Government would pay Rs. 15 billion as refund by June 2000.

Presenting an address of welcome M. Yakub Karim said that the Pakistan Standard Institution (PSI) was a great hurdle in export business as it took a lot of time in issuing quality certificates. He also said that recently custom duty on detergent raw materials had been reduced but the soap industry had been ignored although the end use of both the products was the same.

Giving another example of discrimination in customs duty he said that duty on palm stearin for Oleo Chemical industry was 15 percent and for soap industry the duty on same product was 72 percent ad.val. Similarly customs duty on soap raw material, was 35 percent while finished soap made with same raw material was subject to lower rate of duty i.e. 25 percent.

He further said that previously CBR was empowered to adjust the Custom duties on merit but now its powers had been curtailed and vested in the Tariff Commission which worked in advisory capacity. Its procedure was time consuming and cumbersome. He urged the minister that the CBR could be empowered again as that was the right place and time saving way.

The Consumex, which has over 60 stalls of consumer products, including those from Turkey, Malaysia and UAE will continue up to April 4, 2000.

The inauguration ceremony was also addressed by Syed Masood Alam Rizvi, Vice Chairman, Export Promotion Bureau.