Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts & Accessories Manufacturers (PAAPAM) Saturday urged the government to extend the reduced levy of 5 percent on tractors sale for another year with a view to sustain manufacturing growth which was under threat of closure due to gas supply suspension and power loadshedding.
PAAPAM Vice Chairman Usman Malik said here that reduction of sales tax to 5 percent put the tractor industry and its allied hundreds of vending units across the country back on track, bringing tractor rates in the reach of small land-holders- a step forward in farm mechanization, maximizing per acre yield. Auto industry was again facing a steep decline in production and any change in Sales Tax regime at this point may lead to closure of industry, he apprehended.
He said auto industry appreciated the senior industry minister for continued support for automotive vendors, as on his personal persuasion, the government agreed to reduce sales tax to 5 percent from 16 percent. Usman Malik said last year’s decision of government not only facilitated the tractor manufacturers and vendors attached with this sector but also gave a boost to agriculture sector.
The reduced GST would continue to increase the sale of tractors and ease the problems being faced by the tractor manufacturers and the farming community, he maintained.
He claimed that without sales tax, the local industry would produce up to 100,000 tractors that would ensure jobs for 68,000 workers, besides increasing mechanization of agricultural farms.
