Page 16 - CMA Journal (Sep-Oct 2025)

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
E x c lus iv e I nt er v iew
“
The overarching objective of the
new Tariff Policy is to reduce
front-loading so that the domestic
industry attains competitiveness,
particularly the downstream industry,
which, being involved in value
addition, needs cheaper input to
produce finished goods at
competitive prices “ competitiveness is always a challenge. How does NTC
Mr. Muhammad Iqbal Tabish
Acting Chairman
National Tariff Commission (NTC)
ICMA: The new Tari Policy 2025–30 aims for simpler All tari recommendations under the new policy
tari s and export-led growth. How is NTC framework are guided by evidence-based analysis.
contributing to turning this vision into reality?
ICMA: Trade-remedy measures are often in focus. In
Muhammad Iqbal Tabish: National Tari Commission is your view, how do they help protect and strengthen
aligning tari structures with national competitiveness Pakistan’s industries?
objectives by rationalizing duty slabs, minimizing Muhammad Iqbal Tabish: Pakistan has pursued a liberal
cascading e ects, and prioritizing input facilitation for tari regime, aiming at deeper cuts in tari s in a bid to
export-oriented sectors. The overarching objective of encourage exports; however, the domestic industry,
the new Tari Policy is to reduce front-loading so that producing intermediate products, also requires reason-
the domestic industry attains competitiveness, able protection as well. This is why the trade remedy
particularly the downstream industry, which, being instruments such as anti-dumping, countervailing, and
involved in value addition, needs cheaper inputs to safeguard measures remain in focus. These trade remedy
produce nished goods at competitive prices.
instruments are used to shield domestic producers from
unfair trade practices to ensure fair competition and
sustainable industrial growth.
In an analytical review, NTC ICMA: Many businesses believe tari distortions raise
has found that protection has costs and limit competitiveness. What actions is NTC
taking to address these concerns?
yielded benefits for some Muhammad Iqbal Tabish: The costs of production is a
sectors such as flat steel, serious challenge for Pakistani enterprises. In the
presence of higher cost of production in non-tari
aluminum cans, chemicals, related components such as energy, nancial, and
operational costs, higher tari s further add to the cost,
and footwear that have been making domestic products costlier even in the domestic
able to carved a niche in the market. NTC is systematically removing anomalies,
reducing tari s on raw materials and intermediates, and
global market harmonizing rates across sectors to lower input costs and
enhance value-chain e ciency.
14 ICMA’s Chartered Management Accountant, Sep-Oct 2025
ICMA: Balancing industrial protection with export industry feedback instead of assumptions. Further, NTC
conducts on-the-spot investigations both at the
domestic and international levels and has enhanced its
manage this balance in practice?
analytical ability to assist domestic industry to attain
Muhammad Iqbal Tabish: Protection is time-bound and competitiveness and provide technical support to
strategic, while export competitiveness is long-term. In an Pakistan exporters facing trade remedy actions abroad.
analytical review, NTC has found that protection has ICMA: Since the cost of production plays a key role in
yielded bene ts for some sectors such as at steel,
aluminum cans, chemicals, and footwear that have been trade investigations, do you see a greater role for cost
able to make a niche in the global market. NTC manages and management accountants in this process?
the balance between industrial competitiveness and Muhammad Iqbal Tabish: Absolutely. Cost and
exports by applying data-driven analysis to calibrate management accountants play a vital role in analyzing
tari s-providing support where necessary while avoiding production costs and pricing structures, which are
ine ciencies.
essential for determining fair value and injury margins in
ICMA: How can tari reforms be designed to ensure trade investigations. Recognizing this, NTC ensures that
that small and medium-sized industries bene t its o cers receive regular training in cost accounting to
alongside larger manufacturers? strengthen their analytical capacity and maintain high
professional standards when conducting investigations.
Muhammad Iqbal Tabish: SMEs do face the greatest
challenges from complex tari s, so our reforms focus on ICMA: How can management accountants contribute
creating neutral incentives across all rm sizes. We are more actively to policymaking - especially in price
simplifying structures and rationalizing duties on setting, cost monitoring, and tari evaluation?
commonly used inputs to make them more a ordable.
Muhammad Iqbal Tabish: Management accountants
For instance, in the chemical sector, these reforms have
enabled smaller rms to source inputs locally and at can play a key role by providing data-driven insights on
competitive prices, helping them expand production, production costs, pricing, and industry performance,
which directly support tari evaluation and policy
create jobs, and integrate more e ectively into domestic formulation. At NTC, a few of our o cers come from cost
and global supply chains.
ICMA: The government has emphasized institutional and management accounting backgrounds, and their
expertise greatly enhances our analytical work and the
reforms. How is NTC enhancing its e ciency and quality of policy recommendations. However, the
outreach to better support domestic producers and majority of o cers are trade economists, who undertake
broader economic analysis on rms and industries in
exporters?
Muhammad Iqbal Tabish: NTC is upgrading digital addition to cost of production, which is also an integral
systems, expanding research capacity, and creating a part of NTC's work.
central databank for trade and tari analysis. NTC has The Editorial Board thanks Mr. Muhammad Iqbal Tabish, Acting
also improved its outreach to industry through regular
Chairman, National Tari Commission (NTC) for sparing his precious
interactions with sector-speci c associations, exporters, time to give an exclusive interview for Chartered Management
and chambers. This ensures policies are based on real Accountant Journal.