The LCCI Senior Vice President Mian Nauman Kabir said here that regulatory duty on various items would put an extra burden of Rs. 16 to 20 billion on the consumers, citing that furnace oil, electric equipment, canned food and metal scrap etc were not luxury items as declared by Economic Coordination Committee (ECC).
He said that major quantum of electricity was being generated through thermal means and imposition of five percent regulatory duty on furnace would not only jack-up power tariff but also raise industrial input cost.
There should be a clear difference between luxuries and necessities, and duty should be imposed only on 100 percent luxurious items, he added.
Nauman Kabir assured that private sector was ready to supplement all government efforts aimed at revival of economic activities in the country.
He urged the Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to review the ECC decision and withdraw regulatory duty on essential items in the larger interest of the business community.