Soap makers seek duty, sales tax free import of furnace oil

Pakistan Soap Manufactures Association (PSMA) has demanded of the government to allow duty and sales tax free import of furnace oil to keep soap manufacturing units operative in the absence of gas supply.
This demand was made during a recently held emergency meeting of PSMA at a local hotel under the chairmanship of Sheikh Mohammad Ilyas to discuss gas supply issue and expressed concern over worst conditions and closure of gas supply to soap industries units in Punjab and other parts of the country.
The participants expressed fear that soap will be vanished from the local market and consumer will ultimately suffer a loss; in the absence of gas supply the production of soap will be adversely hit and resultantly thousands of industrial workers, particularly the daily wager would face retrenchment.
Moreover, they have rejected increase in gas tariff and CNG price by 16.95 percent and 46 percent, respectively. Demanding immediate withdrawal, they said the hike in gas tariff and CNG price would badly affect business activities and create difficulties for the common man also. The government must understand that massive increase in gas tariff would discourage investors as they might look for investment opportunities in other countries offering better investment climate.
Commenting on recent action of SNGPL, the chairman said that they have discussed gas supply to non textile general industrial consumers and notices have been served to all units. Earlier soap industry falls under four days heavy load curtailment schedule on weekly basis but now it is totally suspended for indefinite period causing soap manufacturing units to be closed down, because they do not have any other alternative arrangement of energy to run their factories.
He pointed out that soap industry has great importance in the field of cleaning and washing area, equally important as textile industry, if the textile sector is exempted for non supply of gas by the gas authorities, the soap sector should also be given same importance.
Sheikh Mohammad Ilyas noted that it is absolutely vital to provide gas to soap sector because non availability of gas causing serious damage to the expensive equipment and furnaces. In the absence of gas soap manufacturers tried their level best to operate the furnaces by utilising all other available energy resources which could not be proved useful, on the contrary it caused massive damage to the existing infrastructure which is not bearable for soap manufactures.