Rs.125b in taxes on Cement, cost set to go up after Budget

The prices of cement are on the rise again from July after another increase in federal excise duty, hike in fuel prices and higher customs duty on the import of coal being announced in the federal budget 2019-20.
According to experts, the revenue shortfall gap of the FBR is being planned to bridge through imposition of the new taxes of over Rs125 billion per annum, though the cement companies have already been contributing more than 65 percent in annual GST collection in FY 2017-18. They said that the GST gap is not very significant for last five years by the cement companies at compliance rate of almost 75 percent. Moreover the same companies are providing income tax of over Rs11.811 billion.
They said that the FBR is now contemplating different options to take the requisite steps in the upcoming budget 2019-20 for this sector to materialize the target of revenue collection when it has to collect Rs5,550 billion in the upcoming financial year under the possible IMF program of $6 billion.