Displaying items by tag: Tax
Nigeria: Oyebamiji Dauda, the chairman of the Lagos State Bricklayers’ Association, has urged the government to cut the price of cement. He wants it to make cement manufacturing more competitive by allowing more producers to operate in the market, according to the News Agency of Nigeria. He added that the ‘high’ cost of cement was negatively affecting building construction. Dauda’s ideas to ease the price of cement include government subsidy, tax breaks for local producers of building materials and further penalties for imported products.
Dangote Cement denies rumours of job cuts in Zambia
08 July 2019Zambia: Dangote Cement has denied that it will cut jobs in response to a new sales tax by the Zambian government. The local subsidiary of the Nigerian cement producer clarified comments by its chief executive officer (CEO) Albert Corcos that the new tax would negatively affect production costs, according to the Lusaka Times. The General Sales Tax will replace the existing value added tax (VAT) with a standard 9% rate and a 16% rate for imports. However the new tax has been delayed to September 2019.
Cement Manufacturers Association of Ghana rallies against fumigation import tax on clinker
03 July 2019Ghana: The Cement Manufacturers Association of Ghana (CMAG) is lobbying the government against a recent fumigation levy of US$0.50/t on imported clinker by the Ministry of Health. At a recent meeting the association discussed this tax and others negatively affected the cement sector, according to the Business and Financial Times newspaper. It is also unhappy about more longstanding charges, including a VAT restructuring levy of 5%, and a 2% special tax as well as a new 11% electricity tariff and a proposed increase in the cost of a certification licence from the Ghana Standards Authority and impending. CMAG is also complaining to the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority about imports.
Pakistan cement dealers association suspends sales
02 July 2019Pakistan: The All Pakistan Cement Dealers Association has suspended sales of cement in protest against ‘unjustifiable’ taxes. Asif Saeed, the president of the association, has accused the government and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) of levying ‘numerous’ taxes on the cement sector, according to the Business Recorder newspaper. He claimed that the association’s members will remain on strike until their demands are met.
Sephaku Cement to pay up to US$2.8/yr in carbon tax
27 June 2019South Africa: Sephaku Cement estimates it will have to pay up to US$2.8m/yr as part of South Africa’s new carbon tax. The new tax started in June 2019. The subsidiary of Nigeria’s Dangote Cement said that it would apply the tax on its products based on the proportion of clinker per tonne. This would work out at between a 1.5% and 2.5% price increases on lower strength and high strength cement respectively.
In a financial report to 31 March 2019 the cement producer said that its cement sales volumes fell by 6.4% year-on-year due to low cement demand was exacerbated by increases in value added tax (VAT) and fuel prices during the first and last quarter of its financial year. Its sales revenue fell by 3.1% to US$162m and its net profit rose to US$9.08m but only due to a tax credit.
Bangladesh: The Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association (BCMA) says a new import tax on raw materials and a distribution levy will increase the price of cement and place a burden on the construction industry. The new duties will add 8% to the existing 15% of value-added tax (VAT) already liable on raw materials, according to the Daily Sun newspaper. The association is lobbying against the government’s proposed budget for 2019 – 2020. It has described the new budget as business friendly but not favourable for the cement sector. Any additional taxes are also expected to worsen the effect of growing international prices of raw materials.
Falsely declared cement seized at Chattogram Port
17 June 2019Bangladesh: The Chattogram Customs Authority has seized 30 containers of cement imported under false declaration by Pran Dairy at Chattogram Port. Sources quoted by the Daily Sun newspaper said that the company has attempted to avoid paying the correct import tariffs by falsely declaring the consignment as high-density polyethylene (HDPE) for the UAE. However, when custom officials examined the shipment they found Saudi Arabian-branded cement instead.
A total of 10,200 sacks of 50kg bags of cement were found. The duty payable on HDPE is 32% compared to 91% for cement. The importer was attempting to avoid paying import tariffs of over US$350,000.
CSN planning US$390m cement plant in Paraná
13 June 2019Brazil: CSN Cimentos is planning to spend around US$390m on building a new 3Mt/yr cement plant in Paraná. Eduardo Bekin, president of the Paraná State Development Agency, said that the company already had the authorisation to conduct economic viability studies and should confirm the plant by late August 2019, according to the Valor Econômico newspaper. CSN is also considering building the plant in Sergipe state, where it operates a limestone mine. The final decision will depend on the best tax environment for the cement producer.
KSM takes legal action against Guyana Revenue Authority over valuation of cement imports
12 June 2019Guyana: Concrete manufacturer KSM is taking legal action against the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) for over valuing the cost of cement imports. It alleges that the GRA charged it US$16.6m too much for five shipments between January and March 2019, according to the Stabroek News newspaper.
It grew its imports from 2015 to 2018 and it imported 24,480t of cement from Domicem in the Dominican Republic in 2018. However, KSM says that the GRA increased the declared value of cement by over 40% in the second half of 2018 without offering any ‘reasonable or justifiable grounds’ for so doing. KSM says it imported its shipments in 2019 at the lower rate and this was approved by customs. The GRA then demanded the shortfall from KSM in May 2019.
Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines confident Tariff Commission will impose higher import duty
07 June 2019Philippines: The Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CEMAP) says it is confident that the Tariff Commission will increase the duty on imported cement on a permanent basis. In a statement Cirilo M Pestaño II, CEMAP’s executive director, noted that the commission had observed a rise in import volumes since 2016, according to the Manila Bulletin newspaper. He said that the association was confident that the commission would issue a, “ruling consistent with the national interest.” The association added that imports might be good for consumers in the short-term but they were bad for everyone beyond this due to lost economic earnings and reduced industrial production capacity.