The Ceylon National Chamber of Industries (CNCI) which is not pleased with the non-implementation of some of its 2016 Budget proposals, has urged the government to protect local industrialists by imposing a cess on certain locally manufactured products. The Chamber requests the imposing of a cess on adhesives based on polymers, rubber and water based homopolymers and co-polymers and alkyd resins and steel manufacturing industry for construction purposes.
CNCI Chairman Raja Hewabowala said, “We look forward to the
implementation of macro economic policies to bring stability to the economy.”
He said the Chamber is not fully satisfied with the implementation of the proposals submitted in the budget “as certain products we requested have not been covered by cess. The Government’s stand seems to remove the cess gradually.”
The Chamber also notes that the appeal to impose anti-dumping laws, erecting of incinerators for industrial waste disposal and licence renewal fee of companies at the last budget have not been implemented.
He said the Chamber will work with Government on FTAs and other bilateral agreements related to the trade preventing any detrimental effects to local manufacturers.
‘There is no industrial policy in the country. Chambers, Ministries and Government Authorities should liaise to prepare an Industrial Policy in order to strengthen the policies related to the industrial sector in a manner that they are stable and cannot be changed according to the political requirements,” said.
He said the CNCI will have a regular discussions with Government bodies to do away with time-consuming approval systems which will help to enhance the efficiency of ‘Ease of Doing Business’.
“Introducing automated systems to support local industrialists with loans for automation to address the shortage of workers and minimize the cost of production are some of measures we hope to propose to the policy makers,” Hewabowala said.