Local manufacturer requests FBR to take measures against smuggling

November 13, 2018:  A local tyre manufacturer has requested the Chairman of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to take measures against smuggling of tyres into Pakistan which is eating up precious government revenues and foreign exchange.

In a letter to the Chairman of FBR, Hussain Kuli Khan stated that many local industries have either shut down or moved out because of this illicit trade, which has resulted in loss of jobs and foreign exchange.

Talking about the suggestion to remove Regulatory Duty (RD) on smuggling prone items, he said that the data gathered by PRAL/CARE (July’17-June’18) shows that the total percentage of imported tyres has only dropped on average by 11% after the imposition of RD, which is not a drastic reduction.

He said that there should be no smuggling of Truck Bus Radial (TBR) tyres from China as over 80% of TBR tyres are imported from there with zero percent duty on them.

He also stated that the government needs to enact manufacturing friendly policies so the industrial base of Pakistan grows, as well as the dependence on imported finished goods is lost.

Currently, there are only a handful of tyre manufacturers competing against over 100 smuggled or heavily under invoiced tyre brands, he added.

He suggested that FBR should raid markets and seize tyres that the dealers cannot show papers for, and it should be ensured that smuggled tyres don’t come in through the Border Check Posts at Chamman and LandiKotal.

He hoped that these positive steps will definitely help the government to earn more in the form of duty and taxes which is the need of the time.