KARACHI  - Federal Board Revenue (FBR) Member Revenue, Raza Baqir on Tuesday assured the business community that exporters will be exempted from 2 per cent sales tax recently imposed.
“We want to tax only local consumption and local sales,” he said during a meeting with representatives of various associations of value-added textile sector, here at Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Associations (PHMA) Secretariat.
Chairman of Council of Textile Associations Muhammad Zubair Motiwala, Central Chairman PHMA, M Jawed Bilwani and other leaders from five zero rated textile sectors attended the meeting.
The meeting discussed in detail the issue of 2% sales tax and its refunding. It decided to find a mechanism through further consultation/meetings between FBR and Chambers and trade associations of textile sector.
The business leaders demanded that the facility of zero-rating of five value-adding textile sectors should continue for the good of national economy as levy of any sales tax would create liquidity problem for the manufacturers-cum-exporters who were already under financial pressure.
They complained that the exporters had to go through a long exercise for getting refunds of their amounts stuck up with FBR.
Already their sufficient amount of funds was blocked at FBR, they maintained.
The FBR member assured that this issue would be resolved amicably through dialogue like issues of sizing, weaving and processing of textile units. He urged that trade associations should play their due role to make tax refunds system more practical and effective.