AMMAN —
Minister of Industry, Trade, and Supply Youssef Al-Shamali said that the government will
allocate JD57 million from the general budget for 2022 to a fund to support the
national industries, according to local
news outlets.
اضافة اعلان
At a meeting held at the
Amman Chamber of Industry on Monday, Shamali said that as of March, reduction will be
made on energy prices for the industrial sector and work an additional permit
fees will decrease by JD100.
Shamali stressed the important
role played by the industrial sector in supporting the Jordanian economy and
employing national manpower.
“Jordan is proud of the
achievements made by this sector, which exports to about 140 countries in the
world,” Shamali said.
According to the minister, industrial
production inputs will continue to be exempt from any customs duties, and
Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation will continue to support the
industrial sector by covering part of the shipping costs through its flagship
program "We ship your export."
Regarding restructuring of customs
duties, the minister said that no decision has yet been taken in this regard,
but tariff categories are expected to be reduced to four instead of the 18 now.
According to Shamali, 90 percent of the Kingdom's imports are exempt from
customs duties.
The minister said that restructuring
customs tariffs will not affect Jordanian industries, but if there will be the
slightest impact, accompanying measures will be announced to compensate for it.
"The government is keen to
facilitate the work of this sector by addressing the most important obstacles
it faces, most notably the costs of production, employment and financing, so
starting with March, a program will be launched by the
Central Bank to assist
the industrial sector during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Shamali said.
The government also agreed to
extend the period for submitting tax refunds on exports, to include 2021, and
to entirely exempt all industrial production inputs from customs duties, said
Shamali.
Head of the Jordan and Amman
Chambers of Industry Fathi Al-Jaghbir said on Tuesday that the chambers of
industry reject any reduction in customs duties on imported goods that are also
produced locally, especially since many countries support their industries and have
lower energy prices, which makes it difficult for
local goods to compete with
imported products in the local market.
Jaghbir added that the industrial sector
employs most national workforce, so any decision that negatively affects this
sector is bound to increase unemployment rates.
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