KARACHI, Feb 15: Industrialists have urged the government to take stringent measures to check under-invoicing of imports, which not only hurts the local industry but also deprives the government of its revenue.

According to local industrialists high officials in CBR have been approached on the problem repeatedly over the last few years.

Many companies and business associations have made representations to the CBR on the problem but to no avail as the government has failed to deal with the menace in an effective manner.

They cited the case of import of yeast. According to details gathered by Dawn there is enough capacity in the local yeast industry to cater to the local demand but the government still encourages its import.

The stakeholders in the industry argue that with most sophisticated plants in place they can compete with imported items if the government checks dumping of the product in the local market.

According to industry sources the yeast imported from Turkey is under-invoiced and is selling in Pakistani market at a price cheaper than its price in Turkey.

The stakeholders in the local industry demand of the government to combat the menace of under-invoicing to create a conducive environment for the local manufacturing sector to progress.