ISLAMABAD: Repre­sentatives of different sectors have expressed concerns over the misuse of the tax incentive package for the erstwhile Fata/Pata, claiming that the concessions announced in 2019 damaged the ghee, edible oil and steel industries across the country.

Addressing a joint press conference on Monday, the key players in these sectors demanded that the government abolish the exemptions awarded to the industry in the former Fata and provincially administered tribal areas (Pata) for five years.

Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Asso­ciation (PVMA) Chairman Sheikh Abdul Razzaq highlighted that the concessions granted to Fata/Pata included complete exemption from income and sales tax both at local and import stages, customs duty waiver on plant and machinery imports, annual tax returns and withholding tax on local supplies.

As a result of these concessions, production is 27pc cheaper at former Fata/Pata units than in the rest of the country, Mr Razzaq added.

He informed us that with a total population of around 6.25 million, the requirement for ghee and edible oil in former Fata/Pata should be around 52,000 tonnes from January to May, based on per capita consumption of 20 kg annually.

“But the ghee units in these exempted areas have already imported 180,000 tonnes of edible oil, including palm oil, in five months,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2024