Ex-FATA industries to get import quota

KARACHI: Federal board of Revenue (FBR) on Friday said it would determine quota for import of raw materials on the basis of installed capacity for the industrial units located in erstwhile FATA/PATA.

FBR chairman Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed chaired a meeting to review progress regarding determination of the quota.

The participants were informed that a total of 140 units of steel, oil and ghee, plastic, and textile in erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Provincially Administered Tribal Area (PATA) were identified for joint survey for determination of manufacturing capacity.

“Reports about 58 units have been sent to the FBR, while reports of 20 more units are in the pipeline,” FBR said.

The survey and reports on the remaining units would be completed in a couple of weeks, informed director general Input Output Coefficient Organization (IOCO).

FBR chairman said the exercise to determine the installed capacity needed to be completed by April 15, 2022.

It was also decided that exemptions under Sixth Schedule of Sales Tax Act, 1990 and Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 would not be available to industrial units beyond their quota determined on the basis of their installed capacity after April 15.

FBR stated that reports of some industrial unit delaying the exercise on frivolous grounds were received. “Such units will not be allotted any quota to import raw materials after completion of the exercise.”

FBR chairman urged the business community to play a positive role to complete the survey so that misuse of exemption of taxes in the tribal areas could be discouraged.

It is pertinent to mention that at the time of merger of erstwhile FATA tribal areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018, tax exemptions had been granted to the areas for 5 years up to June 30, 2023.

Currently several industrial units located in the areas are manufacturing different goods including iron and steel, plastic, ghee, textile, plastic, etc.