NA body asks FBR to exempt powerlooms from GST

01 Aug '12

2 min read

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Textile Industry has directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the tax authority of Pakistan, to exempt powerlooms, hosiery and sizing industries that are earning below Pk Rs. 5 million per annum from General Sales Tax (GST).

The directions were given during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Textile Industry held under the leadership of Hajji Muhammad Akram to consider whether powerlooms, sizing, hosiery and towel industries should be subjected to GST imposition vide SRO 1125.

The Standing Committee suggested that the upper cap on earnings of these sectors should be removed to the advantage of small entrepreneurs and FBR should try to derive a long-term solution for small entrepreneurs in the textile sector.

The Committee asked FBR to levy a one-time tax on small entrepreneurs in the textile sector, as it is observed that presently FBR collects tax from these industries three times under different headings.

According to the Committee, the small entrepreneurs are already enduring heavy costs to develop their infrastructure, against which they are not earning much, and hence the board should not levy any additional burden on these small entrepreneurs.

Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Akram said that FBR’s stringent policies provoke small entrepreneurs to evade paying taxes.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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