Duty-free import of fabrics to increase exports

The sought measures will enhance exports by over 30 per cent annually and double them in three years.

KARACHI: Garment manufacturers have sought duty-free imports of fabrics for all textile exporters which would enhance exports by over 30 per cent annually and double them in three years. Besides, they said the facility would also lead to doubling of tax revenues for the government.

Addressing a general body meeting of the Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) in Karachi, PRGMEA Chairman, South Zone, Jawed Chinoy said that the government should defer the Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST) for an indefinite period and not for just one month.

He made it clear that the industry is not in a position to pay any further taxes. He proposed the constitution of a task force for the development of small and medium industries (SMEs) in order to increase exports and generate employment opportunities.

PRGMEA Chairman Ijaz Khokhar said that the government was contemplating withdrawing zero-rating status of the textile sector, adding the export-oriented industry, particularly the textile sector, would resist any such move which would cripple exports and destroy the industrial base.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2010.