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The government has eliminated the regulatory duty of Rs250 per set on mobile
phones, while the customs duty of Rs500 per set has been reduced to Rs250.
Besides, SIM activation charges have been cut to Rs250 from Rs500 followed by a
cut in excise duty to 19 per cent from 21.
Coming to commodities, Karachi Wholesalers Grocers Association chairman Anis
Majeed said that the price of pulses would rise by Rs2 to Rs4 per kg, depending
on the retail price after an increase in withholding tax on imports to four per
cent from two per cent.
Regretting the government’s decision, he said that he had advised Mr Shaukat
Tarin to reduce the withholding tax on pulses to 0.5 per cent from two per cent
in order to stabilise prices.
He urged the government to remove the withholding tax on import of food items.
The Pakistan Tea Association chairman Hanif Janoo anticipated a rise of Rs6-7
per kg in tea prices because of the increase in withholding tax.
The government has virtually rejected the PTA’s budget proposal of bringing the
customs duty to zero from 10 per cent and reducing sales tax in order to curb
smuggling. The increase in duty will encourage tea smuggling.
Around 80,000 tons of tea comes through illegal channels, while legal imports
hover between 90,000 and 95,000 tons a year. The new budget measure will reverse
the trend.
On mobile phones, the chief operating officer of United Mobile Mr Azad Lalani,
said the price of mobile phones will come down by Rs400-500 a set. ‘I think the
major impact of the government’s decision will be a massive reduction in the
smuggling of mobile phones,’ he said.
Meanwhile, the cellular phone industry has expressed concerns over the measures
proposed in the budget and said that it would lead to disinvestment in the
sector.
The reduced levies on the mobile phones might support the sale of low-cost sets,
officials of cellular companies told Dawn, but the imposition of Rs0.20 on all
SMS would make a serious impact on the cost of using phones by low end-users.
‘Besides, there are around 150 million special persons who cannot speak or hear
and the SMS is a very important communication tool for this section of society,’
said an executive of a leading mobile company. |
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