KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) President, Younus Muhammad Bashir, urged the Federal Ministry of Finance and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Saturday to completely withdraw Regulatory Duty on numerous imported raw materials, particularly sugar and hydrogen peroxide, in order to reduce the operational costs. In a statement issued here, Bashir pointed out that the exorbitant 20 percent Regulatory Duty alongside the 20 percent Custom Duty on imported sugar, were unacceptable because these high duties not only intensified the hardships for the industry but also created a lot of problems for the common man. He then added that the unreasonable Regulatory Duty (RD) and the high Custom Duty on sugar, hydrogen peroxide and many other essential raw materials resulted in high operational costs for the industry and also gave rise to inflation. If it was really inevitable to impose Regulatory and Custom Duties for the protection of local industry, these duties should be stipulated somewhere between 5 to 10 percent, he remarked, further adding that the exorbitant RD of 20 percent on sugar has to be withdrawn while 20 percent Custom Duty must also be reduced. “These 40 percent is too much, which is equivalent to hurting and destroying the relevant industries”, he added. President KCCI then stressed that all such Regulatory and Custom duties have to be reconsidered and drastically brought down with a view to encouraging the industrial production and ease inflation. In this regard, the Regulatory Duty and Custom Duty should be reconsidered in consultation with Karachi Chamber and other relevant trade associations, he advised. He then added, “The withdrawal of Regulatory Duty and reduction in Custom Duties on sugar will surely bring down the cost of doing business and ensure relief for the already overburdened common man who suffers terribly in the ongoing era of inflation.” He particularly noted that the skyrocketing local prices of sugar have intensified miseries for the common man as this product is frequently used in every single household across the country. Sugar prices have already risen from Rs. 55 per kilogramme to around Rs. 70 per kilogramme, largely due to the excessive Regulatory and Custom Duties, which terribly hamper the production performance of the industry and inflate the prices of many household products, which include sweets, juices, medicines and beverages, he asserted. Pakistan’s textile exports were also said to have been contacting from quite some time because of the high cost of doing business, which is due to an excessive Regulatory Duty on hydrogen peroxide– an essential raw material of textile sector.