April 14, 2007	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 25, 1428

ISLAMABAD, April 13: The government on Friday constituted a four-member committee to recommend a plan for reinventing and determining new role for the National Tariff Commission (NTC).

The committee comprising chairman NTC, chairman CBR, secretary commerce division and secretary industries division will review the existing rules and procedures of the organisation for making it more practical and industry friendly.

The decision for the constitution of the committee was taken at a high- level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to review the restructuring of the commission. Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan and Minister for Industries Jahangir Khan Tareen also attended the meeting.

Ironically, the government had announced two years back in the Trade Policy to restructure the NTC for making it more effective organisation but no practical steps were taken by the government except the holding of these meetings.Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told the meeting that the NTC will be restructured to work as a think-tank to provide necessary tariff advisory services to the government in keeping with the global and local tariff requirements.

He said that the NTC should provide necessary research and development facility to the government to advise on formulating medium and long-term tariff policies to help the local industry grow as well as enhance trade.

Mr Aziz said that the NTC had an important role in protection of domestic industry through appropriate adjustments in import tariffs. He said that tariffs regime throughout the world is changing as the trade and tariffs barriers are being adjusted in line with the new trade regimes.

He said the NTC should be a professional organisation with the necessary manpower having relevant skills needed to accomplish the job. He also directed the NTC to focus on capacity building and skills development of its staff to enable them deliver more efficiently and effectively.

He directed the NTC to benchmark the Pakistani tariff structure and laws against other countries so as to have a better perspective of the laws and the best practices implemented throughout the world.

He also said that the NTC should collaborate and consult with the countries with best tariff laws so that Pakistani laws may be modified and amended. He said that this is necessary to help evolve laws in the light of the best practices prevailing throughout the world.

Earlier Chairman NTC Dr Faizullah Khilji gave a detailed presentation on NTC.