Salt makers urge for tax exemption

KARACHI: Salt Manufacturers’ Association of Pakistan (SMAP) Chairman Ismail Suttar while appreciating the people-friendly budget for 2021-22, appealed to Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin to reconsider sales tax exemption on raw salt for domestic consumers.

He stressed that table salt was considered an essential food item. From 1990, until today, iodised salt has remained exempted.

Table salt is produced from raw sea salt, and iodised salt is produced by adding iodine to table salt. “Law forbids marketing of table salt and allows only iodised salt for eating purposes. Therefore, raw salt if taxed will increase the cost of iodised salt and it will be a burden on the common man,” Suttar said, urging to continue with an exemption on raw salt in the sales tax regime.

Suttar further said that salt used and supplied as industrial salt should remain taxable, because it would not affect the common man.