Staff Reporter
Karachi
Haji Nadeem-ur-Rehman, Chiarman, Pakistan Kiryana Merchants Association (PKMA), while expressing deep concern over negative impact of regulatory duties and huge taxation, pointed out that due to government policies, imports remained only 25%, which has led to a huge increase in smuggling, is also causing heavy financial losses for the importers.
PKMA appeals to Prime Minister, Imran Khan to protect the import sector from destruction, saying smugglers are supplying goods to markets across the country, including Karachi, which include cashew nuts, almonds, chilies, khopra, white, black pepper, cloves and other items.
“These items have not been imported for several months, yet these items are readily available in the markets. Smugglers are selling goods for less than the import cost”, he said.
As a result, importers are losing Millions of rupees on the one hand, while the national exchequer, on the other hand, is facing huge losses in terms of revenue. Haji Nadeem-ur-Rehman also pointed out that the government has closed trade with India, yet the markets are full of smuggled Indian goods.
However, in the guise of Afghan transit trade, smuggled goods are being supplied without any tax payment to the markets across the country, including Karachi. PKMA chairman appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to direct effective measures to curb smuggling, while expressing personal interest and to reduce regulatory duties and taxes on imports legally to meet domestic demand, so that goods which are not produced in the country or are scarce can be imported at reasonable cost to meet domestic demand and the public can get these items at the affordable prices.
