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KARACHI: North Karachi Association of Trade and Industry (NKATI) leaders have suggested the government to impose sales tax at the retail stage instead of manufacturers and industries in budget 2020-21.
NKATI patron-in-chief Moiz Khan and President Naseem Akhtar urged the government to take measures for industrialization for overcoming crises due to COVID-19 so that the country could move faster on the path of economic development and create more employment opportunities.
In a statement, NKATI leaders said that the promotion of industries should be the top priority of the government in the upcoming budget policy as only if new industries are set up will unemployment be eliminated and tax targets are achieved. Strategies for industrialization should be formulated and investors should be encouraged by providing relief.
“Banning the import of finished items for the promotion of industries and allowing import of all non-finished items, including chemicals, machinery, and all other items imported into Pakistan in CKD so that value-added products could be produced in the country,” they maintained.
“The manufacture of CKD should be encouraged while the brand should be registered in Pakistan as it has been successfully tested in India. Therefore, the rapid development of industries in the country can be made possible through CKD”, they suggested.
They said that the manufacturers should be required to gradually manufacture 80 percent of the components in the country in the next 3 years and they should be given a margin of 20 percent. So that it can be given an import license for the next six months.
Moiz Khan and Naseem Akhtar advised that the sales tax should be levied at the retail stage and abolish sales tax on manufacturers and industries so that the cost of a 17 percent sales tax on manufacturers could be reduced.
“We think the retail sector will be fully integrated into the tax net and the government will have easy tax targets while the biggest benefit will be that people may be included in the income tax net,” they added.
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