Value-added sector: Traders, businessmen demand more space

Want zero-rated regime for cottage industry

MULTAN: Traders and businessmen in southern Punjab have demanded more space for the value-added sector in the recent federal budget.

“The government though has offered the value-added sector the best possible incentives under the prevailing circumstances, there still exist deficiencies which could have been avoided for the development of the sector,” said the All Pakistan Bedsheets and Upholstery Manufacturers Association (APBUMA).

“The introduction of zero-rated regime would be beneficial to the cottage industry of Multan and other parts of southern Punjab, which are facing problems of liquidity,” said the APBUMA Chairman Syed Muhammad Aasim Shah. He, however, termed the continuity the Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies (DLTL) as a joke and said the government should offer 4% DLTL to all export items to bring growth to the sector.

Concerning the duty free import of machinery, he said, “The government should offer duty-free import of spare parts to make this offer more comprehensive and ensure modernisation of the value-added textile industry.”

He also welcomed the reduction in the refinance rate to 3%.

Shah also objected to the announcement of paying back refunds to only those carrying RPOs. “The government has stopped issuing RPOs over the last four months. It would be better if it announces the payment of all stuck-up refunds by August 31 to resolve the liquidity issues.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2016.

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