LAHORE: Senior Vice-President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Khawaja Shahzeb Akram on Tuesday called for equal taxation for imported and locally-produced Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to provide local industry a level playing field.
The FPCCI is not against the import of LPG. Still, it is against disparities in taxation, he said while talking to the Pakistan LPG Marketers Association (PLPGMA) delegation here at FPCCI Regional Office Lahore. Therefore, LPG imports should continue until local producers can meet the demand in full, he added.
He said the local industry was under tremendous pressure against imported LPG - the latter has lower taxation and no Regulatory Duty (RD). Therefore, the LPG sector needs immediate intervention and assistance from the government, he added.
He further said that out of the total demand of 650,000-700,000 tonnes of LPG per year, the share of the local industry is 60 percent compared to 40pc imports. The share of imported LPG increases to 40 percent from 30pc during winters on account of rising demand.
The Pakistan LPG Marketers Association (PLPGMA) Chairman Farooq Iftikhar has demanded the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) to take stakeholders on board on the proposed LPG Policy 2021.
The regulator is aware that the current fiscal incentives being provided to imports by waiving off RD and charging a concessionary rate of 10 percent general sales tax (GST) have wreaked havoc in the LPG market by the flooding of cheaper products. Moreover, the disparity in taxation between imported and indigenous LPG continues with added incentive to imports by removing advance income tax at the import stage.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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