The All Pakistan Fruit & Vegetable Exporters, Importers, and Merchants Association (PFVA) has requested Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to step in and withdraw the proposed 10 percent federal excise duty (FED) on beverage industry in the mini-budget.
In a letter to the premier, PFVA said that the proposal would have a disastrous impact on the growers of fruits, and exporters of fruit pulps and concentrates. It added that the government will also be deprived of huge revenue if the proposed FED is implemented.
The association said that the proposal, if implemented, will hamper procurement of more than 200,000 tons of fruits from local farmers and negatively impact the juice industry which has an annual revenue of approximately Rs. 60 billion and investment of Rs. 40 billion.
PFVA warned that the decision will reverse the industry’s growth and diminish the earnings of local farmers creating direct and indirect unemployment for thousands of families. It further said that the business volume would be affected, which in turn would reduce tax collection and encourage the informal sector to gain a foothold in the market.
Citing the issues, the association has requested the premier to critically analyze its request and withdraw the proposed 10 percent federal excise duty (FED) on the beverage industry.
Please remove 15% advance income tax on internet as well. This was promised to be reduced from 10% to 8% but was increased dramatically. There is an additional 19.5% provincial service tax on top of this. Causing internet to be 34% tax. Internet is more important and less harmful to health than sugary drinks so lets do that first.