APTMA Welcomes Zero-Rated Regime

APTMA Welcomes Zero-Rated Regime
The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) group leader Gohar Ejaz has welcomed the announcement of zero-rating regime for textile industry amid hesitation relating to 10 percent viability impact on industry in the form of surcharges, levies and innovative taxes, saying that the government should return it under the Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies (DLTL) in actual.
Reacting to the budget speech, he said the APTMA was demanding zero-rating regime over the last one year. “I am sure that the government would also implement it in true letter and spirit,” he added. He said the zero-rating regime relates to the liquidity issue and the DLTL relates to the viability of the industry. “The government should return local taxes and levies on exports to ensure a complete zero-rate regime,” he stressed.
He said the textile industry would remain unviable in case the government failed to return local taxes and levies on exports. “We will be waiting for the implementation of the announcement of zero-rating regime in true letter and spirit,” he said. “Only then Pakistan would be able to compete with India, Bangladesh and Vietnam,” he added.
He has also welcomed agriculture package of the government, saying that only a viable cotton economy can ensure viability of the textile industry. He said the dying textile industry can only survive if the government extends a complete zero-rating regime throughout the value added chain. He also urged the government to come up with a comprehensive mechanism in this regard. “We are welcoming announcement in case every tax and duty comes down to zero,” he said and added the government should either remove all taxes and levies or return it in actual, not incremental form, under the DLTL. He said the government should also bring a mechanism to return indirect taxes besides the direct taxes.