Protest against 17pc GST on marbles enters eighth day

MARDAN: The protest against the imposition of 17 percent general sales tax (GST) on the marble industry has entered its eighth day.

The marble factories are located in the industrial zone on the Mardan-Nowshera road near Rashakai. A large number of people from Mardan and other places are working as labourers at these factories. The owners of marble factories are protesting against the imposition of 17 percent GST on marble industry. The owners of the factories also set up a protest camp in the industrial zone.

After the closure of the marble factories, the majority of the poor labourers have become jobless and are finding it difficult to make ends meet. Talking to reporters, Marble Factories and Mining Association provincial president Mohammad Sajjad Khan said the owners of marble industries were already paying Rs1.25 GST on per unit in the electricity bills besides paying other kinds of taxes.

He added the marble factories were paying millions of rupees tax to the government. Sajjad Khan asked the government to withdraw forthwith the decision about the imposition of the 17 percent GST on marble industry and restored the old tax system.

He said the owners of the marble factories would continue the protest to make the government accept their due demands. The office-bearer said that they would also stage a sit-in outside the Chief Minister’s House in Peshawar if their demands were not met.