Syria denies exempting sugar imports from taxes

The Syrian government has never proposed a tax exemption for raw sugar imports, the director of the government-owned General Organisation for Sugar, announced yesterday.

“Tax exemption is very important, and measures must be taken in this regard, which will positively decrease sugar prices for the public and private sectors, and reduce the manufacturing cost,” Saad Al-Din Al-Ali told local media.

Deputy Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, Bassam Haidar, was recently quoted by Al-Watan as saying that there were 30 sugar importers in Syria.

Syria has been beset by civil war since the government used brute force to crack down on protests in 2011. Since then, more than 500,000 people have been killed and over 11 million displaced, with millions moving into neighbouring countries or onto Europe in the hopes of finding safety.

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