ISLAMABAD: Former Chairman of Pakistan Steel Melters Association, Mian Iqbal Tariq has urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to continue 17 per cent FED on steel mills of tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in order to give level-playing field to all the stakeholders.

In a statement issued here on Sunday, he said the steel units based in tribal districts had enjoyed sales tax and customs concessions for the last 50 years, and now these units were well established.

He said conservative estimate of an average steel unit in the tribal district, which manufactures at least 100 tons a day, at the going sale price of Rs100,000 per ton, could save over Rs600 million yearly just in sales tax and FED alone.

“This leaves all other units in the settled areas uncompetitive. With about 30 to 40 steel manufacturing units operational in these areas, the combined loss to the exchequer stands at about Rs20 billion to Rs25 billion annually. It is noteworthy that many more units are in the process of being set up,” Iqbal Tariq said.

He said the government had already announced a generous package of Rs100 billion for the development of the tribal areas, and that should suffice to stabilise the economy of that region and maintain and generate employment.

“The time has come that these units contribute to the national economy and pay their share of taxes. Any relief of taxes to steel units of tribal districts will be at the cost of the steel units in rest of the country,” he said, fearing that if this relief continued, rough estimates indicated that in the next two years the loss to the exchequer could swell to Rs60 billion, leaving at least 30,000 people unemployed.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2019