Industry status sought for rice sector

KARACHI: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) urged Federal Commerce Minister Pervaiz Malik on Monday to grant industry status to the rice growers and producers based on the merits and requirements. Unisame President Zulfikar Thaver, in a statement, said rice growers, millers, processors and exporters were all contributing to economic growth of the country and deserve the status of a full-fledged industry for its promotion on a fast-track basis.



He emphasised the need to end ‘the step-motherly treatment’ which was causing hardship to the sector, which was the second largest after textile. “The imposition of 0.2% tax on a turnover of Rs2 million or more is unwise as during the arrival season of the new crop, it gets exhausted in a couple of days and the Rs2-million limit for the fiscal year is unrealistic,” Thaver said, adding rice should be zero-rated like the five other sectors exempted from taxes.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 26^h, 2017.

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