ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has cautioned the government that closure of the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) S-Track portal has severely disrupted sugar lifting from mills in Punjab and Sindh, risking a shortage in the market and a consequent surge in prices. In letters addressed to Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb and Federal Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain, PSMA stated that repeated closure of the FBR’s S-Track portal has halted sugar dispatches from mills, particularly in southern Punjab and interior Sindh. According to the association, FBR officials stationed at mills are systematically stopping sugar consignments at mill gates, while some portal passwords have reportedly been changed and officials responsible for operations are unavailable. PSMA alleged that the deliberate blocking of portals is aimed at promoting the sale of imported sugar by waiving duties and taxes worth approximately Rs. 8 billion—an act the association termed “illegal and discriminatory.” ONLINE
