Govt Mulls Cutting Customs and Regulatory Duties on Agricultural Machinery

The government is considering to reduce the customs and regulatory duties on agricultural machinery in the upcoming budget. This was revealed in the Senate Standing Committee meeting presided over by Senator Zeeshan Khanzada. The Senate was briefed on the National Tariff Policy 2019-24. The government wants to reduce the costs involved in manufacturing and the taxes on argi machinery can be reduced. This is why the government is considering cutting customs and regulatory duties, the government officials said. Senator Abdul Qadir said that due to the anti-dumping duty, the price of iron rods increased by Rs. 120,000 per ton in one year. He added that five to six million tons of iron rod are imported every year in Pakistan. The senator said that the price of iron rods is Rs. 225,000 per ton. He said that enforcing the anti-dumping duty saved the factories but impacted the rest of the country. The Federal Secretary of Commerce informed that the anti-dumping duty on iron rods will last till September 2022. He added that there is zero tax on 50 percent of the raw materials.