Farmers Associates Pakistan (FAP) has strongly criticized the government decision to levy 16 percent in sales tax on agriculture machinery, fertilizer, pesticides, seeds and other agriculture inputs besides other hidden taxes.
In an urgent meeting of Board of Directors of FAP held on Wednesday under FAP Vice Chairman Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi, the members of Board of Directors FAP strongly protested the government’s decision.
They said highly inflationary and detrimental steps will cause the only positive sector of economy to nosedive thus sabotaging any possibility whatsoever of the revival of the economy of Pakistan as total impact of Rs324 billion is in fact a death warrant for the 86 percent of poor farmers of Pakistan who live in villages below subsistence level under adverse circumstances. FAP Spokesman Tariq Bucha elaborated on the dismal state of Pakistani agriculture.
He stressed that under Section 153 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2000, tax collection in the form of Withholding Tax on rice, cotton seed and sugarcane at 1.5 percent would result in impact of Rs20 billion.
“On tractors, the total impact will be Rs9.0 billion on the basis of the estimated production of 75,000 units next year which seems most unlikely in view of high prices because of GST; impact of GST on urea will cause an additional burden of Rs31 billion since the total sale of urea is around Rs.190 billion,” he said adding the impact because of GST on other fertilizer would be Rs16 billion since the sale is Rs100 billion.