Islamabad, JUL 20 /DNA/ – Miftah Ismail, Federal Minister for Finance assured that he would introduce a fixed tax regime for the marble industry in order to facilitate it in growth and boosting exports of the country. He said this while talking to a delegation of marble sector that called on him led by Muhammad Shakeel Munir, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Asim Ahmed Chairman FBR, Muhammad Anwar Sheikh Additional Secretary Finance, Bilal Azhar Kayani Coordinator to PM on Economy & Energy, were also present at the occasion. Jamshaid Akhtar Sheikh Senior Vice President ICCI, Sattar Hussain Shah, Senior Vice Chairman All Pakistan Marble Industry Association (APMIA), Mian Abdul Sami, Former Chairman APMIA, Haji Ilyas Muhammad, Former Chairman APMIA, Mian Irfan Zafer, Former Senior Vice Chairman APMIA, Haji Muhammad Younas, Senior Member APMIA, Muhammad Naeem Senior Member APMIA, Farrukh Munir, Senior Member APMIA, Imtiaz Khan, Waheed Khan, Shahab Khan, Mohsan Khan were in the delegation.
Miftah Ismail said that the government wanted to support the marble sector in order to improve export of marble products and assured that he would help this sector in tax matters.
Speaking at the occasion, Muhammad Shakeel Munir, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) briefed Finance Minister about the problems being faced by the marble industry due to imposition of 17% normal sales tax regime on it. He said that to optimize the tax collection and broaden the tax base, the government should re-introduce the fixed tax regime for the marble industry and charge sales tax through electricity bills. He said that effective from June 2016, the marble industry was paying a fixed sales tax @ Rs.1.25 on per unit of electricity consumed as a final discharge of its net sales tax liability to the extent of marble and granite manufacturing, grinding and polishing process. However, Finance Act 2020 abolished this regime and the marble industry is now subject to the normal sales tax @ 17% due to which the growth and expansion of this industry is suffering. He stressed that the government should re-introduce the fixed tax regime for the marble industry in the next budget that would pave the way for its better growth and increase overall tax collection from this sector as people would willingly pay the fixed tax.
Jamshaid Akhtar Sheikh, Senior Vice President ICCI and other members of delegation thanked the Finance Minister for agreeing to subject the marble sector to a fixed tax regime and hoped that it would facilitate better growth of this sector as well as improve the tax revenue of the country.
