Govt To Introduce Tax To Boost Cement Capacity Utilization

The government is considering incremental taxes in the cement sector to improve capacity utilization, said advisor to the finance minister’s tweet on Friday.

According to his tweet, “incremental taxes are under consideration for those who opt to produce less than their capacity threshold, but no incremental taxes will be applied to those who produce above the threshold.”

Moreover, he stated that the government is developing strategies for reducing cement prices and encouraging competition in the industry.

In Pakistan, the cement sector is facing severe pressure due to rising global coal prices, input costs, freight charges, and rupee depreciation, all of which have adversely affected the cement industry and have prompted cement manufacturers to pass these costs on to consumers.

Cement’s average price was recorded at Rs742 per 50 kg bag as of Nov 18, 2021, according to the latest data. This is 30.23% higher than last year.