KARACHI, May 16: All Pakistan Shipping Association (APSA) wants the government to bring shipping agents under corporate tax regime because they are not in a position to make payment of high rate of presumptive tax.

In a representation to the Finance Ministry, the chairman, APSA, Mohammad Farrukh Qaiser, said that shipping business is confronted with crisis owing to Sept 11 incident and global recession.

The present tax collection system on the basis of receipts, he said, was not just as the withholding tax is deducted on payments to shipping agents, commission agents, contractors and other.

Qaiser said under the present depressed freight market situation the expenses of the shipping agents are hovering very close to the commission received by them from their principals. Some are not even able to meet these expenses and are running into losses.

He said the main income of shipping agents is from the commission received by them from the principals for the services performed for handling of ship and booking of cargo.