Displaying items by tag: Tax

Belarus/Moldova/Russia/Ukraine: Tariffs on on imported building materials from Belarus, Moldova and Russia imposed by the Ukrainian government will start on 26 June 2019, according to Interfax. The interdepartmental commission for international trade has set duties of 115% for goods originating in Russia, 57% for goods from Belarus and 94% for goods from Moldova.

Belarus/Moldova/Russia/Ukraine: The Ukrainian interdepartmental commission for international trade has imposed antidumping tariffs on imported clinker and Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) from Russia, Belarus and Moldova. It has set duties of 115% for goods originating in Russia, 57% for goods from Belarus and 94% for goods from Moldova, according to Interfax. The tariffs will have a duration of five years. Previously the government had embargoed OPC, alumina, slag, sulphate-resistant cement and similar hydraulic cements, including clinkers, from Russia.

Philippines: Data from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) shows that imports of cement rose by 64% year-on-year to 1.74Mt in the first quarter of 2019 despite the introduction of a 4% tariff in January 2019. Imports were 1.06Mt in the same period in 2018, according to the Philippines News Agency. The production capacity utilisation factor of local producers is also reported to have fallen. The DTI says it will continue to monitor the situation.

Senegal: The government plans to introduce a new tax on cement to support a house-building campaign. President Macky Sall said that the tariff would increase the cost of bags of cement, according to the Agence de Presse Sénégalaise. He added that the country has the cheapest cement in the region.

Philippines: The Tariff Commission has delayed a public hearing on the formal investigation on the imposition of safeguard measure on cement imports. The meeting was scheduled to take place in early May 2019, according to the Philippine Star newspaper. The commission said it was postponed in order to give it time to visit plants and check its data.

The investigation started in February 2019 to check whether a provisional safeguard duty imposed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) should remain in place. The DTI applied a US$4/t tariff in the form of a cash bond on imported cement in mid-January 2019 for a period of 200 days in response to a surge in imports.

Bangladesh: The Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association (BCMA) has asked for import tariffs on clinker to be reduced. In a letter to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) it requested that the duty be cut to either US$2.40/t or a fixed rate of 5%, according to the Dhaka Tribune newspaper. Importers pay around US$6.00/t at present. The BCMA argues that the cement industry is paying more than other industries for its imports.

The association has also called for value added tax (VAT) on raw materials to be cut to 5% from 15%, reducing advance income tax to 2.5% from 5% and exempting regulatory duties for fly ash and import duties for cement bulk carriers.

Armenia: Tigran Khachatryan, the Minister of Economic Development and Investments, says that the government is considering adding clinker to a list of goods subject to import duties. A tariff of around Euro40/t could be introduced for a year until April 2020, according to the ARMINFO News Agency. This would be similar to proposed duties on imported cement.

The measures are intended to protect local cement production. Khachatryan noted that imports from Iran could be up to a third of the price of locally manufactured cement due to cheaper energy supplies and state subsidies.

Trinidad & Tobago: The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has ruled that Rock Hard Cement does not have to pay more than a 5% tariff on imported cement. The regional court was ruling on the duty liable for ‘other hydraulic cement,’ according to the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper. Rock Hard Cement’s competitor Trinidad Cement and its subsidiaries had argued that such imports be liable to a 60% import rate that the importer had previously paid due to Barbados’ exemption from the region’s Common External Tariff (CET) in 2001 and its subsequent re-entry in 2015.

Philippines: Ramon Lopez, the secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), says that a suggested retail price (SRP) for cement is not a priority following the introduction of tariffs in imports. He added that prices had barely changed since the safeguard duty started in February 2019, according to the Manila Times newspaper. The Tariff Commission is currently considering whether to add additional tariffs to cement imports. A public hearing is set on for early May 2019 where it may extend the import duties.

Trinidad & Tobago: Trinidad Cement has asked the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to make its competitor Rock Hard Cement pay more than a 5% tariff on imports. It follows a ruling by the council of trade ministers in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in March 2019 that agreed to a classification of Rock Hard Cement’s products in Trinidad leading to duties of up to 5%, according to the Nation newspaper. The case has been referred to the CCJ for final arbitration in June 2019.