LAHORE

The export-oriented industry, especially the value-added textile exporters, is facing serious financial crisis, as the present government has not issued a single installment of billions of rupees income tax and sales tax refunds stuck up with the Federal Board of Revenue.
The Ferozepur Road Welfare Industrial Organization (FRWO) former chairman Adeeb Iqbal Sheikh appealed to the government to issue instructions to the FBR for releasing cheques against all the pending refund claims in order to enable the industry to continue earning through exports.
He suggested a ‘no-payment no-refund’ system for the value-added textile sector, through which payments should not be made in the first place, saving the time and effort of the FBR.
He said that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) still withholds more than Rs13 billion under the Drawback on Local Taxes and Levies (DLTL) claims and about Rs17 billion general sales tax under the refund claims, causing immense problems to the cash-starved industry.
He urged the government to allocate the Export Development Fund (EDF) to the textile ministry so that it could be utilised for the development of exports, as the textile sector’s contribution to the EDF stands at Rs11.5 billion.
He added that the sector’s production could grow by over 80% provided funds were released immediately. Adeeb Iqbal said that the country has failed to improve its textile exports despite getting the status of GSP plus.
FRWO former chairman urged the Punjab government to declare Ferozepur Road Industrial Area as “Industrial Estate”. He said that more than 300 industrial units and trading houses catering to the needs of over one hundred and fifty thousands of people directly or indirectly but due to non-availability of fundamental facilities, the industrialists were facing multiple problems.