Business community criticises Federal Board of Revenue, finance ministry

MCCI says outstanding refund payments should be released at the earliest

MULTAN: The business community in southern Punjab has expressed grave concern on the non-payment of refunds and sharp increase in cotton yarn prices, which have adversely affected the value-added textile industry.

They were of the view that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi should personally give directives for the early release of funds and implementation of the package announced earlier.



Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) President Malik Asrar Ahmed Awan denounced the finance ministry and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for delaying the PM Export Package. He proposed the government to release funds to the central bank for disbursement of duty drawback of taxes to the exporters, as only immediate payment of all outstanding refunds would save the industry.

Awan said that the Ministry of Textile Industry has already notified the revised PM’s package for exporters immediately after the approval of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) but the finance ministry has been employing delay tactics, which has proved deadly for the value-added textile sector.

He lamented that value-added textile exporters were battling hard for their survival in the global market as they faced severe competition with regional countries. Terming funds blockage as the main cause of continuous drop in exports, he said that the export industry was unable to tap its potential in accordance with capacity.



He urged the government to implement its initiatives timely to relieve exporters facing severe liquidity crunch. The MCCI president stressed that the government needed to come up with a long-term solution to achieve export targets.

Also voicing the industry’s concerns, MCCI Senior Vice President Begum Romana Tanvir Sheikh said the government should adopt pro-export policies and ensure their effective implementation so that the country can continue its journey to development and prosperity.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28^th, 2017.

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