Displaying items by tag: Tax
Sinoma subsidiary ordered to pay back US$8.3m tax rebate
04 January 2017China: Sinoma Hanjiang Cement, a subsidiary of China National Materials Company (Sinoma), has been ordered to pay back a US$8.3m tax rebate by the Tax Office of Hantai District, Hanzhong City in Shaanxi. A notice issued by the office said that the cement producer failed to meet the requirements for the rebate, according to ET Net News agency. The office decided to disqualify Sinoma Hanjiang from the entitlement due to its policies regarding rebate and exemption of value-added tax for products and labour services involving comprehensive utilisation of resources. Sinoma said that the extra cost is expected to decrease its profit in 2016.
Export tariff expected to hit Saudi Arabian cement profits
21 December 2016Saudi Arabia: New legislation requiring cement exporters to pay tariffs of up to US$35/t is expected to reduce profits. The new import tax is also expected to compound problems for exporters created by restrictions linked to the gradual lifting of a ban on exports, according to Mubasher financial website. Cement producers are expected to be encouraged to focus on domestic sales instead. Financial analyst Jasim Al-Joubran of Al-Jazirah Capital has forecast low profits for the industry in 2016 due to low government spending. However, he added that sales are expected to recover in the fourth quarter of 2016 followed by a recovery in 2018.
Pakistan tax body looks forward to contributions from cement bonanza
28 November 2016Pakistan: Tax bodies are expecting to see a jump in revenue in the 2016 – 2017 financial year from cement producers as Chinese-funded infrastructure starts to be built. The Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) in Karachi, the largest revenue-collecting arm, estimates that it will tax producers US$114m in the 2016 – 2017 financial year, according to the News International newspaper. A study by the LUT said that growth would arise from increases in sales tax and federal excise duty following the start of projects worth US$46bn from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Cement sales have risen by 8.3% year-on-year to 8.98Mt in the first quarter of the local financial year. This follows a 17% rise in domestic sales to 33Mt in the 2015 – 2016 financial year.
Nigeria: A Federal High Court in Lagos has adjourned legal action by Dangote Cement against Ibeto Cement until 1 November 2016 pending a decision of the Court of Appeal. Dangote Cement is alleging that Ibeto Cement evaded paying taxes on imports of cement to give itself a ‘unfair’ advantage in 2008, 2009 and 2010, according to the National Mirror Newspaper. It is also seeking an injunction against the Ibeto Cement and other defendants in the case from importing cement into the country unless approved by the appropriate authority under the current tax rules.
However, the Federal Government is alleging that Dangote Cement is attempting to minimise its competition. Other defendants in the case also include: IBG Investments Limited, Derima Venture Limited, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Attorney General of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, the Board of Customs and Excise, the Federal Inland Revenue Services and the Nigerian Port Authority.
Vietnam: The Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA) has proposed that the Ministries of Planning and Investment, Finance, and Construction reduce import duties on aluminium cement to improve the competiveness of local refractory producers. At present the country charges a tax of 32 – 37% on imports of the input material used to manufacture refractory concrete and refractory bricks. However, imports of refractory bricks are only charged 6%, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper.
The VNCA suggested the government cut duties on aluminium cement imports to support local firms and reduce the country’s dependence on foreign partners, such as China. Vietnam imports refractory concrete and refractory bricks from China, India, South Korea and Germany.
Nigeria: The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has raided the Lagos office of the Bank of Industry (BOI) following an investigation. Officials of the development bank say that the raid was part of the investigation by the EFCC of the allegation of misapplied funds belonging to the Cement Technology Institute of Nigeria (CTIN), according to All Africa.
In a statement the BOI said that concerns regarding the new terms on how to manage a fund accrued from tariffs on imported cement between 2011 and 2015 had been addressed. The bank was appointed by the federal government to use the money to develop the country’s cement industry. However, following the creation of Cement Technology Institute of Nigeria (CTIN) the BOI was asked in 2013 to transfer the fund to CITN. This did not happen. On 17 June 2016 the fund had grown to US$47m in the BOI’s accounts.
Pakistan: The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has warned that an increase in Federal Excise Duty on cement may increase the levels of illegal imports of Iranian cement. The increase in the tax was announced in the 2016 – 2017 federal budget. Instead, the association wants the government to reduce taxes on cement to promote local dispatches, according to local media.
According to the latest data, issued by the APCMA, the cement industry dispatched 35.5Mt of cement between July 2015 and May 2016, an increase of 106% year-on-year from the previous period. However, exports to countries other than India, fell during this period.
India: Two cement plants in Himachal Pradesh have been accused of evading goods tax worth US$9m, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has said. The Ambuja integrated cement plant at Darlaghat and the JP Cement Himachal grinding plant at Bagha allegedly avoided the tax.
The companies transported 1.7Mt of limestone and 0.21Mt of shale from their quarries between April 2012 and March 2014. Ambuja Cement and JP Cement were liable to pay US$5.1m and US$3.9m respectively. The CAG only became aware of the shortfall in December 2015.
Pakistan: The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has led demands that the government abolish the gas infrastructure development cess (tax) (GIDC) because it has made Pakistan-produced cement uncompetitive for export. APCMA chairman Mohammad Ali Tabba said that declining fuel prices, including liquefied natural gas in the international markets, had added to the situation, according to local press.
The Pakistan government enacted the Gas Infrastructural Development Act of 2011 thereby charging a cess or levy on all non-domestic gas consumers. However, the tax has been resisted legally since that time with tussles over whether back taxes should be collected or not.
Tabba also added that a recent increase on the import duty from 1% to 6% on coal should be reduced to zero.
Court dismisses Tanga Cement tax charge
19 February 2016Tanzania: The Court of Appeal has dismissed a disputed tax charge for US$371,000 against Tanga Cement as ‘incompetent.’ Counsel for Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), Felix Haule, conceded that the appeal was indeed incompetent because the decree was not signed by members of the Tax Appeals Tribunal, according to local media. Before rejecting the two appeals, the Justices of the appeals court were informed that the respondents into the matters have lodged preliminary objections to challenge their competence for having offended the rules under the Tax Revenue Appeals Tribunal. The case was one of three worth over US$1.3bn that were also dismissed as part of a series of corporate tax appeal cases.