KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has proposed to reduce the exorbitant duties and taxes imposed on the import of dry milk powder in order to encourage its legal import.
In a statement issued, President KCCI Muffasar Atta Malik said that dry milk powder was widely being smuggled through Chaman and Torkham borders without any check and balance.
“Due to high rate of duties and taxes, huge quantities of dry milk are landing in the Pakistani markets through the misuse of Afghan Transit Trade, which not only causes heavy revenue loss but also discourages the legal imports of this import product,” he added.
Milk powder importers visited Karachi Chamber and discussed the problems being faced by them due to high duties and taxes, which escalated the cost of imported dry milk by almost 55 percent.
Dry milk powder is subject to 20 percent duty, 25 regulatory duty, 1.0 percent additional custom duty, 6.0 percent income tax.
Malik stressed that the unjust regulatory duty on this product must be completely withdrawn as the fresh milk currently being produced in the country cannot cater to the overall demand for milk and its allied products, leaving no other choice but to go for importing dry milk from reliable foreign manufacturers.