ISLAMABAD: Domestic tractors manufacturing during the first quarter of the current financial year (Q1FY21) have witnessed about 17.17 per cent growth as compared to the production of the corresponding period of last year (Q1FY20).
During the period from July-September 2020-21, about 11,235 tractors were assembled locally as compared to the assembling of 9,589 tractors of the same period of last year.
According to the provisional quantum indices of Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) for September 2020, domestic tractor production witnessed about 13.42 per cent increase in September 2020 as compared to the same month of last year.
In the month of September 2020, about 4,555 tractors assembled as compared the assembling of 4,016 tractors during the corresponding month of last year, it added.
It is worth mentioning here that government under its Agricultural Fiscal Package has approved Rs1.5 billion sales tax subsidy on locally manufactured tractors in order to promote mechanisation in the agriculture sector to enhance per-acre crop output in the country.
The government had announced a fiscal package of over Rs1,200 billion in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic to provide financial assistance for the development of agri-sector in the country.
Out of this package, an amount of Rs50 billion was earmarked for relief to the agriculture sector whereas a one-year sales tax subsidy at the rate of 5 per cent to locally manufactured tractors was also approved as the sales tax was applied on the sale of each tractor.
It is expected that Pakistan can potentially get relief worth $915 million, including $273 million in interest payments during January-June 2021 period.
kashifmunir