LAHORE - Tyres manufacturing sector of the country has urged the government to withdraw the decision of discontinuation of stamping of goods “In Transit to Afghanistan” at Karachi Ports and Port Qasim. This decision will hurt the local industry and reverse all the efforts of curbing illegal practices of smuggling. Spokesman of the General Tyre and Rubber Company of Pakistan (GTR) said the process will increase smuggling and pilferage of transit goods in the country. He said stamping must be mandatory for goods in transit to Afghanistan. Without the stamping, goods will again find their ways to the country and ultimately will weaken local industrial basis and resulting in billion of rupees revenue losses to the government. Moreover, it has been established that stamping was helpful to address items under the guise of ATT that were either unloaded in Karachi or come back from the Afghan border via smuggling. Along with other measures stamping was a good strategy of the customs department that must be carried on. “The biggest problem for the local tyre industry has been smuggling. The local tyre industry is meeting almost 15% of the country’s demand. Since the stamping was in place there was a remarkable control over smuggling. Almost 20% of the country’s demand is met through imports while 65% of tyre demand is covered through smuggling, he said. On the other hand, he added, local industry is generating employment and tax revenue to the government, while it is saving millions of dollars on import bill.