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Devalue rupee by 15% or remove taxes: APTMA to Pak govt
12 Aug '15
3 min read
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) chairman SM Tanveer has said that the government should either devalue the Pakistani Rupee by 15 per cent or withdraw taxes, surcharges and gas infrastructure development cess worth Rs 175 billion from the textile industry, the Pakistani media has reported.
Tanveer's demand came at a press conference in Lahore.
He said the APTMA had deferred its countrywide strike for a month on the request of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. He said the APTMA had so far held four important meetings with the government. He said he was holding the press conference to apprise the media about the progress on talks with the government on weekly basis.
He maintained that the APTMA was satisfied with the developments on negotiations with the government. “The APTMA was unable to pay Rs 72 billion surcharge on the electricity bills and Rs 38 billion Gas Infrastructure Development Cess,” he said.
He said the latest exports data suggest that the overall exports of Pakistan had declined by 17 per cent in value terms during the month of July 2015 against the corresponding period. “Textile industry exports are a major component of the country's exports and it is likely to be dropped by $4 billion in case no immediate step to redress the situation is taken,” he stressed.
“About one million jobs are attached with the exports of every billion dollar exports and Pakistan cannot afford to let four million labourers jobless,” he added.
He said the situation of the textile industry was getting worse and the government must save it from total collapse. “Already 30 per cent of the production capacity has been closed down while 50 per cent of the power looms sector is in acute trouble,” he pointed out.
The APTMA chairman appealed to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to act immediately and save the textile industry from oblivion. “We are with the government on its economic agenda but we want to make clear to the government that the industry is not in a position to pay electricity bills carrying the surcharge and GIDC in the current bills,” he said.
He confirmed that the government had assured the APTMA to pay back the refund claims by August 30 while resolving the textile industry issues by August 31. (SH)
Tanveer's demand came at a press conference in Lahore.
He said the APTMA had deferred its countrywide strike for a month on the request of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. He said the APTMA had so far held four important meetings with the government. He said he was holding the press conference to apprise the media about the progress on talks with the government on weekly basis.
He maintained that the APTMA was satisfied with the developments on negotiations with the government. “The APTMA was unable to pay Rs 72 billion surcharge on the electricity bills and Rs 38 billion Gas Infrastructure Development Cess,” he said.
He said the latest exports data suggest that the overall exports of Pakistan had declined by 17 per cent in value terms during the month of July 2015 against the corresponding period. “Textile industry exports are a major component of the country's exports and it is likely to be dropped by $4 billion in case no immediate step to redress the situation is taken,” he stressed.
“About one million jobs are attached with the exports of every billion dollar exports and Pakistan cannot afford to let four million labourers jobless,” he added.
He said the situation of the textile industry was getting worse and the government must save it from total collapse. “Already 30 per cent of the production capacity has been closed down while 50 per cent of the power looms sector is in acute trouble,” he pointed out.
The APTMA chairman appealed to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to act immediately and save the textile industry from oblivion. “We are with the government on its economic agenda but we want to make clear to the government that the industry is not in a position to pay electricity bills carrying the surcharge and GIDC in the current bills,” he said.
He confirmed that the government had assured the APTMA to pay back the refund claims by August 30 while resolving the textile industry issues by August 31. (SH)
Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India
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