Sindh farmers ask FBR to reduce duty on tractors
Farmers have also proposed FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood to reduce the existing sales tax rate on locally manufactured and imported tractors from 14 percent to 5 percent, enabling the farmers to purchase tractors. This is not an exemption, but only a reduced rate already applicable of many items including vehicles under Sales Tax Act.
The budget proposals of the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) Hyderabad to FBR Chairman included rationalisation of tax structure and abolishment of levy of sales tax on tractors to support agriculture sector.
Sales tax on tractors, pesticides likely
When contacted, sources in the FBR revealed that the proposals are under consideration of the FBR during ongoing budget preparation exercise to facilitate poor farmers of the country.
The chamber stated that the approved tariff plan to be implemented in budget (2025-26) covers elimination of Additional Customs Duty (ACD); phasing out of Regulatory Duty (RD); gradual elimination of the Fifth Schedule of the Customs Act and restructuring of the customs tariff. This must cover most essential item i.e. tractor which is not a luxury item like vehicle.
Nabi Bux Sathio, Senior Vice President, Sindh Chamber of Agriculture Hyderabad stated: 'We, as representatives of the farming and agricultural community in Sindh, feel compelled to shed light on the significant challenges and hardships faced by our fellow farmers and agriculturists in recent times'.
The chamber stated that the agricultural sector plays a pivotal role in Pakistan's economy, contributing 24% to the GDP and employing 37.4% of the workforce. However, the sector is currently grappling with a myriad of complex issues. These include the lack of investment and support, the adverse effects of climate change, and the dwindling availability of water, exacerbating the challenges faced by farmers and agriculturists.
Moreover, farmers have been severely impacted by the inability to secure fair prices for their produce. The government's announcement of support prices for wheat and cotton has not translated into actual purchases at the stipulated rates, leaving farmers with no choice but to sell their crops at significantly lower prices. The situation is further compounded by the low prices offered for rice and the potential delay in the sugar cane crushing season, which has added to the woes of the farming community.
He urged the FBR to reduce the existing sales tax rate on locally manufactured and imported tractors from 14% to 5% enabling the farmers to purchase tractors, and also reduce the custom duty on imported tractors from 15% to 5% and also for re-conditional tractors.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
2 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Civil servants may continue to serve as secretaries
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chairs a review meeting on Hajj arrangements for the upcoming year in Islamabad on Saturday, June 21, 2025. Photo courtesy: Radio Pakistan Listen to article A week after advertising to hire federal secretaries of economic ministries from the private sector, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday constituted a committee to further examine the induction of sectoral experts into more suitable tiers of the civil service. The ministerial committee includes Climate Change Minister Dr Musaddiq Malik, Power Minister Sardar Awais Laghari, Commerce Secretary Jawad Paul and FBR Chairman Rashid Langrial. It has been tasked with thoroughly deliberating the proposal. The committee's findings will also be aligned with the work of two other committees led by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal. The move comes just six days after the government published a media advertisement seeking private sector professionals for top civil service roles, which sparked concern among some federal ministers and bureaucrats about the potential impact on governance and institutional integrity. Prime Minister Shehbaz directed the formation of a committee to finalise actionable proposals for the restructuring of other ministries and institutions, considering the reforms in the energy ministry, according to a statement issued by the PM's office. "The committee will also focus on recruiting the best workforce, aligning ministries with modern systems, and improving governance through reforms," stated the PM's office. The sources said that during the meeting on power sector issues some of the participants raised serious concerns about the impact of the decision on hiring of principal accounting officers and other technical experts from the open market. There was a strong view in the meeting that the office of the federal secretary cannot be replaced with private persons having limited or no accountability of their decisions. One of the arguments was that foreign investment has not been hampered by secretaries, rather the reasons were different. Lack of sanctity of the contracts is said to be one of such reasons discouraging foreign investment. The participants didn't have an issue with the induction of people against the higher grade positions but there were concerns about the level of entry whether they should be made federal secretaries or the inductions should be from grade 20 or 21, said the sources. Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Establishment Ahad Khan Cheema said that there was no change in the earlier decision, which was to establish a pool of capable and experienced people. The government has issued advertisements over the weekend to hire seven "dynamic" private sector individuals for the posts of federal secretaries. However, the advertisement did not name the divisions, the qualification criteria and job descriptions. It has invited applications from "dynamic and experienced professionals for the role of Principal Accounting Officers (PAOs), Technical Advisers, Head of Organizations in key economic areas", states the advert. A two weeks' deadline is given for submission of the applications. The advertisement, posted at the Establishment Division website, did not name the divisions, qualification criteria and the job descriptions. However, it suggested that the government is set to hire seven federal secretaries from the private sector to run the economy-related ministries. These are the Finance Division, Petroleum Division, Power Division, Planning Division, Industries and Production Division, National Food Security Division and Vocational Education and Training. These divisions are currently headed by officers from the all-powerful Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS). One federal minister objected that his secretary's position is advertised without first consulting him. Pakistan's economic ministries are mostly run by the officers from the PAS and there has been criticism that many of them do not have the requisite experience to understand the complexity of the economic matters. The prime minister said that transformation of the outdated system into a modern, digital, and effective governance model was among the government's priorities, as economic development and prosperity were impossible without modernizing the system to meet contemporary demands. The prime minister directed to introduce reforms to enhance the performance of ministries and hire the services of experts in every sector. The prime minister said that the country could not achieve progress with the system that has been in place for seven decades. The meeting participants argued that instead of bringing in federal secretaries the capacity should be built through technical induction on contract basis or in middle tier lateral entry in civil service. The direct induction as principal accounting officer is largely untested with no exposure of public sector management and political and parliamentary oversights barring the induction of secretary information technology. According to some bureaucrats, top private sector professionals in this high risk environment will not join on present management pay scales and special pay scales. The existing stuff on the management pay scale is not of high quality, they argued. Young officers from the provinces are also reluctant to work in the federal government due to better service structure in the provinces. The federal government had a couple of years back given 140% executive allowance to the bureaucrats on the grounds that the officers from provinces were not ready to work in the centre due to better pay packages being offered by the federating units.
Business Recorder
3 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Arrests for tax frauds: FPCCI urges govt to defer FBR's new powers
ISLAMABAD: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FPCCI), Friday, asked the government to defer new powers of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officials to arrest those involved in tax frauds. They also warned the FBR for taking 'extreme steps' if the government did not fulfil their demands. Responding to this, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Member Inland Revenue (Operations) Dr Hamid Ateeq Sarwar assured the business community that the arrest powers under Section 37A of the Sales Tax Act would only be used against those involved in fake/flying invoices and causing multi-billion-rupee losses to the national exchequer. 'There are 60,000 sales tax filers out of a total of 200,000 registered entities. There is no intention to arrest manufacturers or traders through this law of the land,' FBR's Member Operation Dr Hamid AteeqSarwar assured the FPCCI forum here in the federal capital on Friday. The representatives of the FPCCI from across the country were present on the occasion including Ghee/Cooking oil, Flour Mills Association, President Islamabad Chamber, Rawalpindi, online participants from Karachi Chamber, Lahore Chamber, small traders representative Ajmal Baloch, real estate agents and many others. During the discussion between the FBR and the business community, the FPCCI leadership warned to observe strike on July 19 all over the country but after getting assurance from the tax machinery that the powers of the FBR would not be abused, they announced that the FPCCI would not go for any strike on July 19, 2025. President Real Estate Federation Pakistan Sardar Tahir stated that the stamp duty was increased in Islamabad from 1 to 3 per cent by the chairman CDA unilaterally so the benefits of reduction in tax rate for buyer of property by 1.5 per cent had evaporated in the air with just one step. The Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kiyani stated that this issue would be conveyed to Minister for Finance and would be taken up with Minister for Interior to resolve it related to CDA. Atif Ikram Sheikh, president FPCCI in his address asked the government to defer 37A under which the FBR possessed powers of arrest on tax frauds, otherwise, they would go for extreme steps. However, the Minister of State argued that the Finance Act 2025 was approved by the Parliament and offered the businessmen that he would be ready to hold meeting with them by every month to avoid misuse of power. This act of the parliament cannot be done away with, however, abuse of power will not be allowed, he added. He said that the power to arrest would be used against who plunged into Rs100 billion through fake and flying invoices in case of sales tax. In his address, Hamid Ateeq Sarwar stated that the powers to arrest would not be used against manufacturers or traders but it would be used against fake/flying invoices. He said that there was no need of apprehension in the ongoing fiscal year for payment of Rs200,000 through banking channel under 21- S of the Income Tax because the return filers would have to show in their returns in the next fiscal year 2026-27 and would have to give response if selected in audit case. Speaking at a meeting organised by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani said the government has achieved economic stability. Inflation has decreased from 38 per cent to single digits, with the inflation rate for the last fiscal year recorded at 4.5 per cent, providing significant relief to the public. He highlighted that the policy rate has been reduced from 22 per cent to 11 per cent, offering relief to the business community. These economic achievements, he noted, seemed impossible when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took office amidst 'default-like conditions'. Minister Kayani stated that the federal budget, while adhering to the IMF programme, has provided relief to the people. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is focused on fixing the country's economic fundamentals through privatisation, right-sizing, economic reforms, and controlling deficits. Simultaneously, the prime minister is engaging in continuous consultations with industrialists, economists, and stakeholders to transform economic stability into sustainable economic growth. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
3 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Enhanced revenue collection, economic growth: FBR introduces substantial amendments to Customs Act, 1969
LAHORE: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has introduced substantial amendments to the Customs Act, 1969, as part of the Finance Act 2025. These changes aim to enhance revenue collection, streamline import and export processes, and promote economic growth. The 2025 amendments to duty rates bring significant changes across multiple sectors — from textiles and electronics to building materials, automobiles, and beyond. Key changes included Cargo Tracking System (CTS), tariff rationalisation, reduction in Additional Customs Duty (ACD) rates, Regulatory Duty (RD) Regime, exemption regime, and sector-specific changes. So far as CTS is concerned, a new section 83C has been added to the Customs Act, 1969, introducing CTS to monitor imports, exports, and transit goods. The system will be implemented once the necessary technological infrastructure is developed. On the tariff rationalisation front, new tariff slabs of 5%, 10%, and 15% have been introduced, while existing slabs of 3%, 11%, and 16% have been abolished. The 0% tariff slab has been extended to further 916 PCT codes. Similarly, Additional Customs Duty (ACD) rates have been reduced on various tariff slabs, including 0%, 5%, and 10%, with some exceptions. In addition, Regulatory Duty (RD) rates have been revised downward on 1011 PCT codes, with a maximum rate reduction from 90% to 50%. On the front of exemption regime, 479 entries in Part-1, Part-III, and Part-VII of the Fifth Schedule to the Customs Act, 1969, have been deleted to streamline and reduce the cost of exemptions. Regarding sector-specific changes, knitted fabrics will now attract a duty rate of 20% or Rs 115/kg, whichever is higher in textiles. Interactive Flat Panel Displays will attract a duty rate of 20% in electronics. Duty rates on motor vehicles for transport of goods and passengers have been revised in automobiles and duty rates on solar cells and modules have been reduced in solar energy sector. So fast as implementation is concerned, the changes are effective from various dates, including February 2, 2025, and May 1, 2025. The FBR has directed concerned officers and officials to carefully review the budget documents to avoid misinterpretation or misapplication of the budgetary measures. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
