ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA) said Sunday the pricec of ghee and cooking oil will jump up to Rs 18 by July 1, 2021 as a result of taxation measures introduced in the budget (2021-22).

In a statement issued here on Sunday, Chairman PVMA Abdul Waheed stated that the prices of different brands will jump from Rs 13 to Rs 18 depending on their respective retail prices in the market. He said that local currency has lost Rs5 against US dollar while taxes to the tune of Rs18 per kg have been imposed in the budget therefore there will be no price reduction in the near future. He said that the government is getting almost Rs90 tax on per kilogram of ghee and cooking oil which are highest in the region.

Abdul Waheed said that three percent additional sales tax has been imposed on the sale of ghee and cooking oil to unregistered buyers, whole-sellers, and retailers will pay 0.1 and 0.5 percent withholding tax while input sales tax adjustment up to 90 percent has been allowed.

He strongly proposed that input sales tax adjustment up to 100 percent should be allowed so that uniform tariff should be imposed on the whole industry, withholding tax on wholesale and retail purchase should be reversed.

Additional sales tax should be abolished so that the prices of essential food items should remain stable as per the wishes of the government, he demanded.

As per the speech of the finance minister in the parliament house, taxes on the important food items have been abolished while the taxes on ghee and cooking oil industry have been kept intact which is a discriminatory decision, Abdul Waheed added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021