Cargills to engage Govt to revisit destructive taxes

  Cargills (Ceylon) PLC will engage the government to rethink what they term as ‘destructive’ taxes such as the deemed Value Added Tax (VAT), officials said.   “The government needs to look at deemed VAT in agriculture, dairy, pharmaceuticals. We won’t pass this cost to the producers or the consumer. This increases our costs and squeezes our margins," Ranjith Page, Deputy Chairman Cargills told the Business Times on the sidelines of a media conference on Wednesday.   The media conference was to announce the Rs. 2,550 million or 8 per cent equity stake by IFC in Cargills Foods Company Pvt Ltd (CFC), the retail subsidiary of Cargills to help the company expand its operations in the country, enhance its backward integration system and develop the efficiency of its supply chains.   "The endorsement of our retail business by an institution of the calibre of IFC is a major positive for our group. Our business model is driven by the principle of value creation for consumers, producers and the community through sustainable investment and growth that is focused across Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, over the past several years this ethos has faced serious challenges from the macro and fiscal environments. Together with IFC we would look to build on our business model, fine-tune our systems and processes and meet the expectations of all our stakeholders,” Mr. Page told the media.