ISLAMABAD: The Fed­eral Board of Revenue (FBR) has proposed 10 per cent regulatory duty on import of iron and steel products estimating revenue generation of Rs1.7 billion during the remaining few months of the current fiscal year, an official source said.

Talking to Dawn, the official said the FBR had submitted a summary to the Econ­omic Coordination Co­m­­­mittee (ECC) of the Cabinet for consideration.

The ECC considered the summary in its last meeting but directed the FBR to take up the proposal with relevant stakeholders and submit it in the next meeting.

According to the official, the government has already imposed 10pc regulatory duty on import of aluminum scrip which is used for manufacturing of aluminum alloys.

“This is actually an anomaly as the government has imposed regulatory duty on import of raw material, but at the same time its finished product is exempted from the levy,” the official added.

Ahead of this attempt to impose regulatory duty through the ECC, the Pakistan Steel Mills had also formally approached the National Tariff Commission (NTC) seeking imposition of an anti-dumping duty on import of steel products, particularly hot rolled coils (HRCs) from China.

However, the NTC rejected Steel Mills request on the ground that the commission couldn’t establish a causal link of dumping.

The official said the FBR believes that falling prices of these commodities in the international market will effect revenue collection negatively.

These products have also created tough competition for local manufacturers as well.

Recently, the FBR imposed regulatory duties on several hundred products in a bid to meet the International Monetary Fund benchmark of revenue collection target for the current fiscal year.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2016