KARACHI, April 4: The All Pakistan Shipping Association (APSA) has asked the government to bring down handling and logistic costs in the ports and shipping sector to ensure increased export competitiveness and reduced import cost.

The association in their budget 2002-03 proposals have suggested that for bringing down handling and logistic costs it was imperative upon the government to allow import of handling equipment at ports free of duty.

The present tariff structure of 25 per cent customs duty and sales tax is prohibitive and should be removed. Therefore, the APSA demands that the SRO No.987(I)/99 dated August 30, 1999 and SRO No.439(I)/2001 dated June 18, 2001 deal with the exemption of sales tax and on the duty-free import of plants, machineries and equipment for export industries should be adopted for equipments used in the port’s restricted areas.

While listing the equipment to be exempted from duty the association said that various container handling machinery, such as container stackers, reach-stackers, lifters, mobile container handling cranes, hustlers and container handling trucks and tailers be brought to zero duty.