ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Chemist Retailers Association (PCRA) on Monday rejected deduction of the advance sales tax imposed on medicines and alleged that it will go in the pockets of manufacturers and distributors.

Representatives of the association were speaking at a news conference held at the Rawalpindi Arts Council (RAC).

PCRA General Secretary (Lahore) Mohammad Babar Amin said earlier, retailers used to get a 15pc discount but during the current financial year, manufacturers and retailers had started deducting 1pc advance sales tax due to which they get a 14pc discount.

“We fear that the amount will go in the pockets of the manufacturers and retailers rather than in the exchequer. Moreover, law does not permit manufacturers and distributors to collect sales tax on behalf of the government,” he said.

PCRA (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)President Sardar Ismail Khan said they would go to any extent to push the government to withdraw the decision.

PCRA Balochistan President Syed Akbar Shah, who attended the press conference through video link, said that such decisions would create problems for both retailers and the government.

Meanwhile, the Young Doctors Association of Pakistan Institute of Medial Sciences (Pims) has written a letter to the management pointing out that air-conditioners which were installed in the out patient department (OPD) had gone missing.

Almost all air conditioners in the OPD went missing during renovation; all of them were purchased by departments via donation and collection of funds. The management has been requested to hold an inquiry and retrieve air conditioners so they could be installed again, in the interest of patients and doctors.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2021