ISLAMABAD, Oct 30: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet meets here on Friday to consider withdrawal of 15 per cent general sales tax (GST) on phosphatic fertilizer to contain the rising trend in its prices, official sources told Dawn.

The ECC, to be presided over by Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, would also consider a claim for the payment of around Rs70 million to Passco by Utility Stores Corporation (USC).

The sources said the ECC had been informed by the ministry of industries that the prices of phosphatic fertilizer were rising continuously because of increase in raw material, furnace oil and sulphur.

The ministry has stated that the only way to contain this trend was to exempt the product from 15 per cent GST. The Central Board of Revenue has, however, opposed the proposal, saying removal of tax on the product was not a solution and hence some other price stabilization measure should be adopted.

The sources said the Passco claim worth Rs70 million against USC had been a cause of concern for the government. Passco claims that USC owed this amount to it on account of incidental charges for the supply of wheat in the late 1990s.

It says that payment of this amount has become more pressing because of a proposed move to purchase 200,000 tons of sugar from the mills within a period of three months, otherwise, Passco would have to arrange finances from the banking sector.

The ECC would also review the performance of various federal ministries and divisions in updating their respective websites and take steps for their immediate improvement.

The sources said that most of the ministries, particularly economic ministries seldom updated their websites and were regularly causing embarrassment to the government.

The ECC would also approve tariff rationalization for polyester filament. Most of these items were on the agenda of the last ECC meeting held on October 25 but could not come up for discussion.

The committee would also review Sensitive Price Indicator and demand availability of essential commodities in the country with reference to the reports that prices have gone up drastically with the advent of Ramazan. The ECC would also review financial data and economic indicators.