Thursday 20 June 2024
Islamabad (Urdu Point Newspaper Latest - APP. June 20, 2024) The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Excise has approved the proposal of 18 percent sales tax on nicotine pouches. The meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue was held at the Parliament House here on Thursday. The Finance Bill 2024 was reviewed in the meeting. The meeting was presided over by Senator Salim Mandvi Walane.
The meeting was attended by Senator Sherry Rehman, Farooq Hamid Naik, Mohsin Aziz, Faisal Vawda, Senator Manzoor Ahmed Ka Kad, officials of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and concerned stakeholders. The meeting reviewed amendments related to penalties including selling out of outlets of retailers selling cigarette packs without proper tax stamp or label and bans on e-liquids and low-priced cigarette brands.
The committee approved 18 percent sales tax on nicotine pouches while duty on import of electronic cigarettes was reviewed. The proposal to abolish 20 percent Federal Excise Duty (FED) on packaged juices was also considered in the meeting. The position of the Fruit Juice Council was that the existing tax structure and GST are hindering the supply of affordable juices to the consumers and the export capacity of local juice manufacturers is also affected, however the committee decided to maintain the existing tax structure. .
In the meeting, the tax issues in the property sector and the expected inflation rate for the next financial year were also reviewed. Senator Salim Mandviwala expressed his concerns about the possible impact on consumers due to the imposition of the tax, while the FBR chairman highlighted the existing tax rates in various sectors. Rates were discussed.
Senator Faisal Vawda emphasized on supportive policies to maintain investor confidence in fuel independent technologies. FBR officials referred to the tax gap between imported and locally manufactured vehicles and said that such matters are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industries. In the meeting, stakeholders from telecommunications and steel mills submitted suggestions and recommendations. why
Complaints related to the collection of advance tax on mobile handsets and sales tax were raised by the telecommunication sector while the issues related to the steel mill industry were referred to the Irregularity Review Committee for further review and resolution. Chairman FBR expressed his confidence regarding the increase in revenue during the meeting. Senator Saleem Mandviwala said that the increase in taxes may increase the rate of inflation.
