Textile sector asks govt to withdraw sales tax

Hosiery manufacturers say SROs issued by FBR are unreasonable.

FAISALABAD:

Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA) asked the interim government to withdraw 2% sales tax slapped on the tax-exempt textile sector.

No step had been taken by the caretaker government to pull the economy out of the persistent crisis, and if the interim setup also gives a cold shoulder to the country’s economic problems, the labour market will be flooded with unemployed people.

These concerns were voiced by Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA) Vice Chairman Syed Zia Alamdar Hussain, in a meeting held on Friday. The meeting discussed withdrawal of 2% sales tax on the zero-rated textile sector, unscheduled power outages and gas supply related problems.

He said that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had issued unviable and impractical statutory regulatory orders (SROs), which were not capable of bringing any improvement in tax revenue collection. The SROs were issued without any consultation with stakeholders.

Regarding unscheduled power outages, Hussain went on to say that the previous government had plunged the industries into 16 hours a day of load-shedding, causing irreparable damage to the sector

For the summer, the government had committed gas supply of five days a week, but ordered the authorities to supply gas for just three days.

The PHMA members also expressed concerns that present policies and situation had made it difficult for industrialists to continue doing business, forcing them to shift to other countries.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2013.

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