KARACHI, July 12: The government has reduced withholding tax on pulses, including lentil, grams, chickpeas and yellow peas and done peas from 6 per cent to 2 per cent to check the rising prices in the domestic market, official sources told Dawn on Tuesday.

Presently prices of pulses in the world market are showing rising trend despite the fact that source countries like Canada, Turkey and Myanmar are surplus.

The timely decision of the government to cut withholding tax at import stage of all category of pulses have been welcomed by importers, and president Pakistan Commodity Importers Association (PCIA) Raees Ashraf Tarmohammd said, “It had been long-standing demand for removal of withholding tax on import of essential commodities which has been met by the government.”

He said that the imposition of 6 per cent withholding tax at import stage in 1996 was strongly opposed by importers because it was paid by end-consumer or a common man. Reduction to 2 per cent would now help reduce the prices of these essential commodities to some extent, he added.

However, he expressed his utter displeasure for allowing export of black gram (Channa) to India and said, “With Ramazan only a couple of months away the consumption of this essential commodity in the form of flour which is widely used for preparation of Pakoras would go short.”

He said India was short in black gram and its exports from Pakistan had been going on for the last two months and if the government did not check the flow we might have to import the commodity to meet the higher demand of its flour ‘Basen’ during Ramazan.

Due to exports of black gram, he said the prices in domestic market have risen to Rs25 per kg whereas in India it is being sold at Rs35 per kg. Mr Raees said even today prices of pulses in the country are lesser than those quoted in the world market.

He expressed the hope that the country would not face any shortage particularly when the government had reduced the rate of withholding tax from 6 to 2 per cent.