Due to a statewide strike by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers and All Pakistan Cement Distributors, the supply of cement has been shut down indefinitely throughout Pakistan.
The country’s commercial sectors are becoming increasingly unrest-ridden as a result of this walkout, which comes after similar ones by grain mills and petroleum merchants.
The decision to stop distributing cement is the result of complaints over the adoption of a point-of-sale (POS) system and the application of a withholding tax. Cement supply has been halted nationwide for all time by the All Pakistan Cement Dealers Association. Its chairman said that cement businesses had doubled their prices as a result of the withholding tax’s adoption.
Sajid Ali clarified how the cement industry was added to the third schedule in the withholding tax legislation.
“The withholding tax has led to a substantial increase in cement prices, with the cost per sack soaring from Rs500 to Rs1,500,” stated Sajid Ali. He went on to say that cement was not a Fast-Moving Consumer Good (FMCG) product. He claimed that producers have doubled the price of cement as a result of this unfair tax burden.
