PM aide for export-driven growth strategy

Insists government’s responsibility is to give businessmen market access

LAHORE: The government is committed to coping with the challenges faced by the country, for which export culture and an export-driven growth strategy should be introduced, remarked Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile, Industry, Production and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood.

Speaking at a teleconference with Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Irfan Iqbal Shaikh, the adviser said the responsibility of the government was to correct things and it was rectifying the mistakes made in the past.

“It is the government’s responsibility to give businessmen market access. Moreover, engineering and other sectors are also being focused on for exports,” he added.

Dawood emphasised the need for bringing quality culture as it would help in enhancing exports. He pointed out that he was persuading Pakistani manufacturers to send their products outside of the country in maximum quantity to grab more market share.

Speaking on the occasion, the LCCI president said special permission should be granted to industries for loading export cargoes on vessels. He stated that to create more liquidity in the economy, it was requested that tax refunds of export-oriented industries should be released immediately.

Shaikh appreciated the recently announced initiatives by the government to enhance export growth in the wake of economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The chamber president stressed that the government should revive the zero-rating facility for the five major export-oriented industries. “Income tax refunds of Rs100 billion should be released immediately to help the industry to overcome liquidity challenges.”

Furthermore, he stressed, the government should not make collections under the Duty and Tax Remission for Exports (DTRE) and Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies (DLTL) schemes so that the issue of refunds did not arise at all. He underlined the need for giving special travel permission to labourers of export-oriented industries so that they could reach their workplaces.

Shaikh suggested that the government should again allow the BMR tax credit of 10% under Section 65B of the Income Tax Ordinance. 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 2^nd, 2020.

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