April 2, 2006	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 3, 1427

KARACHI, April 1: The government has asked the Central Board of Revenue to immediately issue a notification for the withdrawal of sales tax on sugar at import stage to provide some relief to consumers and ensure uninterrupted supply. A meeting was specially convened on Saturday in Islamabad to discuss the ongoing sugar crisis and President General Pervez Musharraf directly interacted with the sugar millers and importers in order to find a solution to the problem. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, his adviser on finance Dr Salman Shah and CBR Chairman M. Abdullah Yousuf were also present.

During the meeting a number of decisions were taken to ensure a reduction in the price of sugar and improve its supply in the domestic market.

Sources privy to the meeting told Dawn on telephone from Islamabad that at the outset of the meeting President Musharraf sought suggestions from millers’ representative Chaudhary Zaka Ashraf and Commodity Importers and Traders Association Chairman Raees Ashraf Tarmohammad in this respect.

President Musharraf told the participants that the government was not much concerned about the revenue loss for bringing down sugar prices. He also asked the millers to reduce their profits and pass on the benefit to end consumers, as the government was lowering taxes on sugar and other essential commodities to provide relief to the consumers.

The government on its part will allow the millers to evaluate their sugar on deem basis that will also help reduce prices in the domestic market.

It was also decided that the provincial governments would be asked to remove the mandatory condition of licensing for traders of sugar and also withdraw limits on keeping 60 million tons of stock which was not possible for such a high consuming and essential commodity like sugar.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the government would not allow the Trading Corporation of Pakistan to sell its sugar stocks to wholesalers or retailers. He said sugar would only be sold through the Utility Stores Corporation.

Raees Ashraf said that in March L/Cs for the import of around 400,000 tons of sugar were opened and out of this around 325,000 tons had already arrived in the country.

He said for the current month of April, importers had opened L/Cs for 150,000 tons and assured that they would do their best in replenishing country’s sugar stocks. However, he said that prices would continue to be determined by the world market and the importers would keep a nominal margin for their profit.

President Musharraf also directed the TCP to maintain sugar stocks equal to two months consumption which would come to around 0.5m tons, as monthly sugar consumption currently ranged between 0.2m and 0.25 million tons. The TCP presently holding around 150,000 tons of refined sugar and will be releasing it from time to time on the directives of the government to the USC.