In a recent development, Pakistan’s Chairman of Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Textile, Khawaja Ghulam Rasool Koreja threatened to resign if the government fails to resolve the issues facing the industry. Koreja, talking to the office bearers of the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA) recently said the committee will call officials of finance and commerce ministries as well as the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to discuss the matters especially related to sales tax refunds.

The Standing Committee’s chief, heading a 19-member delegation, assured the representatives of the value-added sector of solving their problems. Koreja said the committee will also hold a meeting with the Prime Minister and Finance Minister apprising them of the sensitivity of issues. He identified four issues pertaining to value-added textile sector, including refunds, export development fund, new markets and cost of production. He also constituted a sub-committee to discuss the difficulties with other representatives of the value-added sector.

Standing Committee member Abdul Rashid Godil said sales tax threshold should be eliminated and a reduced and uniform rate should be introduced. Godil said that he had raised voice for the important sector but it appeared that the government was more focusing on trading instead of manufacturing.