KARACHI, Oct 5: After the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government imposed a two per cent infrastructure cess last month, industries face another challenge as the Balochistan government has imposed up to 1.5pc cess on the export value plus one paisa per kilometre.
Like the consignments routed through KP, this additional cost will now apply to all exports via Balochistan to Afghanistan and Central Asia, as well as Iran, Turkiye and beyond, Pakistan Business Council (PBC) chief executive Ehsan Malik informed Federal Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan in a letter.
Market diversification through regional trade is an important pillar of Pakistan's export growth strategy. He stressed that regional trade is also an enabler for broadening the export basket, as goods in demand in Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran are different from "our traditional exports".
Pakistan's eastern neighbour is rapidly building market share in Central Asia and Russia and is an active trading partner of Iran. "The provincial export levies will undermine the competitiveness of our exports," he warned.
Malik sought intervention from Mr Kamal with both the KP and Balochistan governments to have the export cess removed.
Additionally, he noted that the Sindh government's infrastructure cess on imported inputs for export value-addition is a matter of concern. —Dawn
