Non-food articles’ registration with PSQCA: Steel sector concerned at increase in marking fees

ISLAMABAD: The documented steel sector has expressed serious concern over a substantial increase in the marking fees for the registration of non-food articles with the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA).

In this regard, the Pakistan Association of Large Steel Producers (PALSP) has made an appeal to the Ministry of Science and Technology for reduction in high marking fee for steel sector to encourage/promote licencing of industry with the PSQCA.

This refers to the most recently floated revised SRO for fixing marking fee for the industry by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The PSQCA/MOS&T has made various slabs of marking fees and according to the new proposal, instead of reducing the marking fees, it has been increased to 0.125 percent of sales volume for the non-food items.

At present, the effective levy of marking fee for non-food articles has been 0.1 percent.

For a long time, the steel industry has been pleading for the reduction of the marking with the government.

The association believes that the levy of 0.125 percent of sales is very high and it will be counterproductive as well as a self-defeating exercise to levy such high marking fee on the non-food items.

If the government take this step it will be damaging for the industry.

The decision will not be helpful for our industry and instead of encouraging the industry to get registered the measure could discourage the industry to get registered with the PSQCA.

Also, this measure will create unfair competition in the steel sector by putting the documented sector at great disadvantage.

This may be mentioned here that the purpose of the MOS&T/PSQCA is not revenue generation but to promote licencing/registration of the industry for effective enforcement of rules and Pakistan standards.

We believe that reduction in the marking fee will not only encourage more and more firms to get registered/licenced but also will increase revenues of the PSQCA manifold.

The industry has urged upon the PSQCA not to take any decision without the consent of the industry and it is suggested to reduce the marking fee for the steel industry to 0.025 percent because it is almost impossible for firms to pay huge amount of fee where the profit margins are very low.

In the start, the PSQCA may charge a smaller amount of fee, say 0.025 percent of the sales and once everyone gets registered then gradually it could be increased.

This may be mentioned here that last year, the PSQCA virtually agreed to reduce the marking fee to resolve the issues of struggling steel industry, it added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021