Tag: sugar mills

  • Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif’s crackdown on sugar hoarders might not be sweet for culprits

    Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif’s crackdown on sugar hoarders might not be sweet for culprits

    Owners of sugar mills grow worried as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ramps up efforts against their activities. As per a PM office press release, Mr Sharif relayed information regarding a plan to reduce the hoarding of sugar and tax evasion by mill owners.

    This move by the Prime Minister comes as per his broader fight against tax evasion to boost revenues. The motivation behind this scheme is to meet the objectives set out by the IMF for the government. IMF objectives had tasked Islamabad with a target of 2.652 trillion rupees for the last quarter, which it was not able to achieve.

    Mr. Sharif, however, aims to cover the revenue shortfall and meet the remaining revenue targets for upcoming quarters, too. The sugar industry is a prime source to finance the growth of tax revenues as they have a track record of evading taxes and hoarding sugar. Taking action against producers who hoard sugar will be beneficial.

    This is because hoarding sugar has negative effects on both consumers and businesses who use sugar to produce their own goods. This is because hoarding artificially inflates prices due to an illusion of there being a low level of sugar supply.

    So, if hoarding is halted, sugar prices will likely drop, causing great relief to the general public who buys it. While this might decrease the per kilo profit margins for sugar millers, it is imperative to note that official reported profit margins will likely rise.

    The logic behind this seemingly contradictory result is hidden in the fact that sugar millers sell their hoarded sugar off the books via unofficial channels. This allows them to sell their produce at an artificially higher rate. Moreover, unofficial sales are not logged by any regulatory authority, allowing for sugar millers and traders to skip out on filing taxes for these unofficial sales.

    The higher prices are a nightmare of those industries that use a vast quantity of the commodity. These include industries such as food processing, pharmaceuticals, and beverages. The magnitude of savings from a drop food in sugar prices can be seen once it is noted that in 2022/23, the food processing industry alone consumed a staggering 6.1 million metric tons of sugar.

    With Mr. Sharif’s campaign against the “sugar mafia” industries that have a large input of sugar will see significant savings, causing a rise in their profit margins. Another industry that will see a significant rise in income is the CCTV camera manufacturing industry. This is because Mr. Sharif has advised that these cameras are to be placed at mills to monitor the sugar stocks and to ensure that they are not being hoarded.

    With the Prime Minister’s instructions in place, both the economy and businesses are expected to see a notable positive shift. Only time will tell how well the implementation of these directives is carried out as the benefits hinge on successful implementation.

  • Jahangir Tareen faces tough challenges in Lodhran

    Jahangir Tareen faces tough challenges in Lodhran

    As the nation gears up for the upcoming general elections, political tensions have intensified in Lodhran district, specifically between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the newly emerged Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP).

    Failure to reach a seat adjustment formula between the two parties may result in a challenging electoral battle for Jahangir Tareen, the chief of the IPP, in his native district of NA-155.

    Reports from Dawn indicate that Jahangir Tareen, strategically evaluating the situation, has taken preemptive measures by filing nomination papers for NA-149 in Multan as well.

    Tareen has submitted papers for two National Assembly seats and four Punjab Assembly seats, indicating a readiness for multiple contingencies.

    The primary contender against Tareen, PML-N’s Abdul Rehman Kanju, has publicly opposed any seat adjustment with the IPP. Kanju has urged the party leadership not to impose such an arrangement, potentially setting the stage for fierce competition in Lodhran.

    Amid this uncertainty, 14 candidates have submitted their nomination papers for NA-154 (Lodhran), including notable figures such as Abdul Rehman Kanju and Imtiaz Begum.

    Meanwhile, 14 candidates who submitted their nomination papers from NA-154 (Lodhran) include PML-N divisional president and ex-interior state minister Abdul Rehman Kanju, and his mother Imtiaz Begum, PTI leader Akhtar Khan Kanju (an uncle of Abdul Rehman Kanju), ex-MNA Nawab Amanullah Khan, Ajmal Khan Kanju, Rana Faraz Noon, Rana Afzal Noon, Pir Raza Shah, Imdadullah Abbasi of PPP, Sohail Khan Kanju, Muhammad Zubair, Zafar Iqbal, Irfan Ahmed and Ismat Bibi.

    As many as 20 candidates have filed papers from NA-155, including Jahangir Tareen, former MNA Siddique Khan Baloch, ex-MNA of PTI Muhammad Iqbal Shah, his son, ex-MPA Aamir Iqbal Shah, Mudassar Jahanzeb Shah, Rana Muhammad Rafiq of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), Shah Nawaz of the PPP, Ziaul Rehman Tamimi of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), Sajid Iqbal of Pakistan Markazi Muslim League, Saleem Abbas of Saraiki Democratic Alliance, Muhammad Akram Qaiser, Muhammad Qasim, Ghulam Mustafa, Wasim Ahmed, Ahmed Deen Malik, and Nafees Murad Meo.

    A total of 19 candidates have filed papers from provincial assembly constituency PP-225 (Lodhran -1), They include Abdul Rehman Kanju, ex-minister Jail Zawwar Hussain Waraich, ex-MPA Pirzada Jahangir Bhutta, Tahir Hussain Khan, Muhammad Razaq, Muhammad Saleem Akhtar, Ashiq Hussain Baloch, Imran Habib Bhutta, Kaleem Hassan, Ali Hassan, Nadira Hayatullah, Aftab Ali Babar, Muhammad Mubeen, Mumtaz Hussain Baloch, Shazia Hayat Tareen, Intizar Ahmad Attari, Muhammad Yuosuf, Rab Nawaz Khan and Waseem Abbas.

  • Supreme Court directs FBR to collect 50% super tax from big companies within seven days

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ordered organisations earning more than Rs150 million to submit 50 per cent of the super tax imposed on them to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) within seven days.

    A two-member bench consisting of Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Athar Minallah heard the plea filed by the FBR against an interim order issued by the Lahore High Court (LHC). The FBR’s counsel, Salman Akram Raja, informed the bench that the LHC had temporarily prohibited the FBR from collecting the tax pending a final decision.

    However, counsel for the respondents argued that the government’s super tax on corporations was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court suspended the interim order of the high court and allowed the FBR to collect 50 per cent of the super tax from these industries within seven days.

    Last year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the implementation of a 10 per cent super tax, also referred to as the “poverty alleviation tax,” on 13 key industries to increase tax collection. The government stated that the “tough decisions” were made to safeguard the economy.

    According to Geo, the sectors subject to the tax included cement, steel, banking, airlines, textile, automobile assembly, sugar mills, beverages, oil and gas, fertilizer, cigarettes, chemicals, and LNG terminals.

  • ‘Three sugar mills in Sindh were shut down, leading to an increase in the price of sugar to Rs140 per kg’: PM Khan

    ‘Three sugar mills in Sindh were shut down, leading to an increase in the price of sugar to Rs140 per kg’: PM Khan

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan during an address at a ceremony in Attock on Friday said that Sindh shut down three operational sugar mills, which contributed to an increase in the price of sugar.

    “The price of sugar in Pakistan has hit Rs140 per kg. I inquired why this was so. I learned that three sugar mills in Sindh, which were operational, were shut down,” the prime minister said.

    The prime minister went on to say that he subsequently learnt that due to the reduced supply, the sugar mills in Punjab began to hoard the commodity.

    “I told the chief secretary that our law forbids hoarding and so if the sugar mills are doing so, we must retrieve the stock and bring it out to the market so the price drops.”

    “We found out that since July, the sugar mills have obtained a stay order against the rule. And so our government was unable to do anything,” PM Imran Khan said.

    “This is a gross injustice that the sugar mafia earns billions after having broken the backs of our people. And when the government moves to do something, they obtain stay orders,” he remarked.

    PM Khan claimed that there was uproar in India as well over high petrol prices and Pakistan still had the cheapest petrol prices in the region.

    “In India today, there is uproar as well [over petrol prices] and the petrol price per litre is Rs150 while it is Rs200 in Bangladesh. [On the other hand] it is the lowest in Pakistan at Rs146,” the premier said.

    “The biggest [impact] of what happened was that the oil price first decreased and now in the last three months it has doubled […] when oil becomes expensive, then everything becomes expensive.”

    “When there was inflation in the whole world then obviously Pakistan is in this same world and not in the heavens so we also had to be affected. As a result, we fully tried and are still trying to protect our people from this inflation.”

    The prime minister’s comments come the same day as the government increased petroleum prices by up to Rs8.14 per litre with immediate effect to ensure the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

  • ARY UK apologises to Ishaq Dar on air over fabricated allegations

    ARY UK apologises to Ishaq Dar on air over fabricated allegations

    A private channel New Vision TV, the broadcaster of ARY UK, has issued an apology on air to the former finance minister Ishaq Dar, who is currently residing in London.

    In an apology aired by ARY UK, the channel said, “We unconditionally apologise to Ishaq Dar for the significant distress, upset and embarrassment which these broadcasts have caused him.”

    “Dar never managed the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU), never impeded its work, nor did he do anything to protect anybody in any case including the alleged Chaudhry Sugar Mills case”.

    According to Dawn, the defamatory remarks were made in two news shows which were aired in 2019. A transcript of the Special Minister Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Shahzad Akbar’s claims on the show that Dar did not allow the FMU to function.  It was also alleged that Dar had taken these steps to protect individuals involved in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills money laundering case.

    Sources told Dawn that Dar issued proceedings against the channel in July 2020 and later served a claim in the UK High Court. In 2021, ARY UK made an offer for amends — a procedure in which a defendant in an action for defamation may make a written offer to publish an apology and pay damages. Acceptance of such an offer terminates defamation proceedings and parties settle the matter between themselves.

    Dar along with a restriction and an apology had claimed damages for libel of around 200,000 pounds.

    In a statement shared with Dawn, the former minister said, “I have never been involved in corruption or any unlawful activity and never used any influence against any institution. The allegations made by the pro-government media house and Shahzad Akbar were aimed at damaging my reputation but Allah SWT has been most kind and the TV channel has accepted in the UK judicial process that the allegations were fabricated, false and untrue. The TV channel has accepted that I was maligned and nothing wrong has been done by me.”

  • NAB strongly reacts to Maryam’s tirade

    NAB strongly reacts to Maryam’s tirade

    Reacting to PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz’ tirade, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has dismissed the same as an attempt to halt ongoing investigation against the Sharif family in Chaudhry Sugar Mills and money laundering cases.

    A day ago, Maryam had questioned who gave the bureau the right to “judge [her] statements”.

    Taking notice of the allegations that came as NAB moved LHC seeking cancellation of Maryam’s bail, the bureau, in a press release, said that the PML-N leader was trying to cause differences among institutions.

    “Statements against NAB and judiciary had been given in the past and attack over NAB Lahore office last year is evidence of it.”

    The bureau claimed that Maryam had “challenged law and order by giving inciteful speeches”, citing the violence that had erupted during her appearance at the NAB Lahore office in August last year.

    “NAB is an independent institution and striving to eliminate corruption from the country without any discrimination.”

    Read more – Maryam Nawaz being threatened, says Nawaz

    It said that after NAB summoned her in a personal capacity, Maryam was “making efforts to create an environment of chaos in the country, besides continuing to give treasonous statements against respectable institutions like NAB, judiciary and law enforcement agencies”.

    The primary purpose of these statements was to create obstacles in, and influence, the investigation of cases related to corruption and money laundering against the Sharif family besides promoting conditions that were detrimental to peace, the handout said.

  • PM Imran, aides accused of helping sugar barons make Rs400bn in profits

    Prime Minister Imran Khan, his principal secretary Azam Khan and special aide on accountability Shahzad Akbar have been accused of facilitating the sugar barons under the guise of the sugar inquiry commission, helping them made over Rs400 billion in profits.

    The claim was made by former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) deputy director Sajjad Bajwa, who was appointed by the premier to probe the malpractices in the industry, following a hike in the prices. Bajwa was later suspended for sharing classified information with the sugar millers before being dismissed from the service last week.

    According to a report in BBC Urdu, Bajwa said he was removed from the post because of some “influential personalities” in the federal cabinet who turned against him after he questioned the role of the government departments in the smuggling of the commodity.

    “During the investigation, I suspected the smuggling of sugar to Afghanistan and raised questions about the role of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in the sugar business,” he alleged.

    “Due to these questions, the decision to remove me from the duty was taken a long time,” the ex-deputy director, who was dismissed from the agency last week, claimed.

    Responding to the claims of Bajwa, SAPM Akbar said there was no truth to these claims. “PM has nothing to do with the matter,” he said, adding that he did not even know Sajjad Bajwa.

  • Jahangir Tareen’s sugar mills post profit of Rs138.92 million in three months: report

    Jahangir Tareen’s sugar mills post profit of Rs138.92 million in three months: report

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) stalwart Jahangir Tareen’s sugar mills have reportedly posted a profit after tax of Rs138.92 million — a 170% increase in gross profits in three months — as compared to a loss of Rs353 million recorded in the same period last year.

    According to media reports, JDW Sugar Mills Limited has announced its financial results for the first quarter that ended on December 31, 2019, which show that the revenue of the largest white sugar producer in the country went up by 61.45% to Rs13.19 billion during the first quarter as compared to Rs8.17 billion recorded in the same period last year.

    The sales have increased mainly due to an increase in average selling prices of sugar, molasses and carryover sugar stocks.

    The sugar division comprises three sugar mills units, JDW Unit-I, JDW Unit-II and JDW Unit-III in Rahim Yar Khan and Ghotki districts. It is one of the largest groups in the sugar sector and contributes approximately 15-17% of the country’s sugar production. It is also managing Sugarcane Corporate Farms over an area of 24,000 acres in Punjab and Sindh.

    While people allege that the government had a role to play in scoring Tareen these profits, it is pertinent to note that as of last week, a serious case of sugar shortage had emerged as the country already stumbled amid a wheat crisis.

    During the PTI government’s 15 months, sugar prices have shot up to as high as Rs64 a kilogram (kg). However, over the past week, the wholesale rate rose from Rs64 to Rs74 per kg and an acute shortage surfaced in the country. Last year, Pakistan produced 600,000 tonnes of sugar. Now, however, the wholesale rate of sugar is expected to reach Rs80 per kg, The News reported.

    Further, if the government does with sugar what it did with wheat-flour and does not halt exporting it, prices could reach up to Rs100 per kg in Pakistan.