ISLAMABAD, Sept 19: Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers’ Association (PVMA) has urged President General Pervez Musharraf to direct the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to rationalise duty and taxes on import of edible oil to arrest the sharp increase in local cooking oil and ghee prices.

PVAM Secretary Dr Ghulam M. Samdani in a statement issued here on Wednesday said that the proposals in this respect had already been submitted to the ministry of industries, finance ministry and FBR for consideration.

The association demanded rationalisation of customs duty and federal excise duty on imported edible oils in line with increasing and declining trend of the prices of imported edible oils.

It had also been demanded that the FED on imported edible oils may be fixed on the basis of prices of edible oils prevailing during first week of July 2006, which in fact was the average price in normal circumstances.

A positive view of the PVMA proposals would not only result in the reduction of price of vegetable ghee/cooking oil, but would also avert instances like arrests made in Faisalabad, Mr Samdani said.

The secretary said that more than 80 per cent requirement of edible oils for the manufacture of vegetable ghee/cooking oil was met from imports. International prices since last year have been one of the highest.

Soyabean prices have broken the record for the last 33 years. Similarly because of increase in oil seeds by more than $100 price of edible oil extracted from imported oilseeds have also gone up. These were one of the factors for the increase.

With the increase of international prices, the sales tax and excise duty increases by double due to cost base of 15 per cent basis, he said.

On the other hand in spite of PVMA protests, the government continues to subsidise vegetable ghee through utility stores procured from an exclusive organisation bearing subsidy cost which ultimately may be more than reduction of duties.

He said the current policy of the government was not only unsustainable but the benefit did not go to the consumers around the country.

The system had various leakages and loopholes of sale of these items in the open market rather than going to the intended consumers.