LAHORE:
Sugar millers have urged the federal government to cut back the Sugarcane Growth Cess in Punjab and make it equal to the levy imposed in different provinces.
“In Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the cess on sugarcane is at present a lot decrease than Punjab. The sugar business requests the federal government to cut back the cess in Punjab from Rs5 and convey it on a par with different provinces,” the Pakistan Sugar Mills Affiliation (PSMA) mentioned in a press release launched on Friday.
It identified that the cess had been in pressure in Punjab since 1964 and it was levied on sugarcane in each crushing season. “Nevertheless, its ratio is factored in the price of manufacturing of sugar.”
A PSMA spokesman mentioned the tax on sugarcane equipped to mills was collected by the federal government equally from sugar mills and farmers. This tax is used for the development and restore of roads from sugarcane fields to mills, development of bridges, analysis and promotion of the sugarcane crop.
Nevertheless, in line with the spokesman, the sugar mills carry on receiving complaints from cane growers in Punjab that the cess just isn’t solely greater than different provinces but in addition district governments acquire the levy, which isn’t utilised for the needs specified within the legislation and the situation of roads from farms to mills stays dilapidated.
Pakistan has one of many highest tax charges on sugar on this planet. Gross sales tax alone is eighteen%, whereas India has 5% tax, Thailand has 7% and China has 13%.

