Revival plan: Textile industry comes up with growth-led strategy

Suggests duty removal, tax rebate and long-term financing facility


Our Correspondent January 05, 2017
A multi-year tariff, determined by Nepra for the industry, should be notified without including the surcharge, which would make available electricity at the regionally competitive price of Rs7 per kilowatt-hour. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: The textile industry, while highlighting the challenges being faced by millers, has come up with a set of recommendations for its true revival with the help of a growth-led strategy as exports have consistently stood weaker over a long time.

All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) Chairman Aamir Fayyaz outlined the proposals during a meeting with Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) Chairman SM Muneer at the association’s office. They discussed restoration of the viability and growth of the textile industry.

Fayyaz pointed out that exports of all sectors had slid because of the high cost of doing business. The trade deficit reached $28 billion in the previous fiscal year as exports dropped to $19.5 billion from $24.5 billion in 2013.

He suggested that the government should remove customs duty on the import of cotton, allow duty-free import of all man-made fibres that were not being manufactured in the country and permit the drawback of taxes and levies at the rate of 4% on export of yarn and grey fabric, 5% on processed fabric and 6% on home textiles, made-ups and garments.

Also, the government should allow a long-term financing facility, input tax refund on packaging materials under the zero-rated regime and lift the moratorium on new gas/re-gasified liquefied natural gas (LNG) connections for captive power plants.

He proposed that a multi-year tariff, determined by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) for the industry, should be notified without including the surcharge, which would make available electricity at the regionally competitive price of Rs7 per kilowatt-hour.

The Aptma chairman called for supplying re-gasified LNG to five major export industries at the unified price of Rs600 per million British thermal units throughout the country.

Revealing that $3.5 billion worth of industry capacity was staying shut, he emphasised the need for bringing that capacity back to production as well as restoration of investor confidence in order to encourage them to execute their investment plans.

Speaking on the occasion, the TDAP chairman said exports should always be the top-most priority of the government for instilling confidence in the entrepreneurs. “It is high time that we catch up with our competitors by slashing the cost of doing business,” he remarked.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6th, 2017.

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