The joint meeting of textile and agriculture ministries and excise department which was held on August 6 to resolve the issue of ginning license and related matters, did not bear any fruitful outcome.
An indifferent attitude of the textile secretary, who refrained from being a party to the meeting, forced the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) to stand firm in its decision to continue the strike unless their demands weree met.
A total of 1100 member factories of PCGA are on complete shut down from August 1, 2008, due to failure of the Textile Ministry to resolve the issues facing ginners.
Mr Ghulam Rabbani, Director, Board of Karachi Cotton Association told Fibre2fashion, “Ginners have demanded grant of trade license, withdrawal of newly imposed 3 percent tax on gross turnover, removal of 15 percent subsidy of GST on electricity bills and elimination of tax of Rs5 per bale in Punjab and Sindh.”
Although the textile commissioner did assure ginners of the issuance of ginning license by September 15 this year, urging them to reopen ginning factories, the excise department did not ascertain any amendment in the Rs5 per bale tax policy.
However, what the authorities fail to realize is that the newly imposed taxs will only burden the ginning sector forcing them to bear a financial burden of around Rs55 million in a quarter. As a matter of fact, the major sufferers would be the growers and suppliers of cotton seed because as long as the shut down continues, the cotton seed stock will lose its quality incurring heavy losses.
A total of 881 units were operating in Punjab while the numbers were near 205 in Sindh, all under the umbrella of PCGA.
However, it has been reported that, under the burgeoning pressure of financial crisis and stagnant business, some 23 ginning factories in Sindh area have reported to start functioning from today and more will do so in the next few days.
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Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
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