The textile industry that contributes 60 percent to the country's total exports demanded free import of cotton and polyester staple fibre and zero rating of inputs to provide internationally competitive raw material to the industry. It was astonished to learn that duty and sales tax has been imposed on import of cotton just four months after the announced package for the textile industry despite shortage of domestic cotton.
APTAMA requested the government to reduce the electricity rate for independent feeders to Rs 7 kwh without levy of surcharge, besides provision of RLNG and system gas at regionally competitive rate ie Rs 400 /mmBTU across Pakistan without levy of GIDC. APTMA expressed its dissatisfaction over implementation of Prime Minister's Rs 180 billion export led package as only Rs 2 billion have been released instead of Rs 40 billion during past four months.
It stressed the need for payment of all pending sales tax duty drawbacks and incentive scheme claims in addition to allocation of Rs 10 billion per month for payments as envisaged in the export package. APTMA regretted that there has been minimal investment during the past 5 years resulting in decline of textile exports. Therefore the government should announce an attractive policy in the 2017-18 federal budgets for technology up-gradation and setting up of new projects.
It may be added that on the contrary the Pakistan Polyester & Synthetic textile manufacturer group and filament yarn manufacturers group have also sent an SOS to the government to impose 10 percent regulatory duty (RD) on the import of PF yarn to save the local PF yarn industry for it has already suffered an accumulated loss of Rs 3 billion since 2014.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017