Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA) have urged the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to ban import of fabric from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in a significant move to salvage the local fabric industry. According to PHMA, the unbridled import of fabric from UAE, though there are no manufacturing units in the country, is adversely hurting the local industry. This is all an Indian fabric which is being imported in Pakistan via Dubai, according to the PHMA letter that it wrote to chairman FBR Nisar Muhammad Khan. .

The letter urged the Pakistan government to investigate the Indian fabric trade from UAE and demanded UAE’s exporters to produce the Certificate of Origin of the fabric that is imported in Pakistan. For the survival of the local industry, the government should ban the import of fabric from UAE as there are no fabric manufacturing units in UAE. This will save a large numbers of weaving units in Pakistan that are currently non-functional or about to close down due to rampant import of Indian fabric, the letter added. .

Value-added textile sector has been clashing with the FBR because of non-issuance of custom rebate claims of exporters that have been held for few years. Exporters are of the opinion that the soaring rebate and refund claims have made it impossible for them to meet their foreign commitments due to severe liquidity crisis.