SIALKOT
Sialkot-based traders, industrialists and exporters have expressed grave concern over inordinate delay in the release of held-up funds including sales tax and customs rebate claims, and said the delay was halting the flow of capital in the industries thereby leaving bad effects on the production.
They said that the Sialkot business community’s customs rebate claims, sales tax refunds and duty drawback cases worth Rs5 billion have been lying pending with the Customs Collectorate Sialkot and the Regional Tax Office Sialkot. Because of which, the traders, industrialists and exporters have been suffering shortage of investment capital in industries, they added.
Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Fazal Jillani said that the exporters had been playing an instrumental role in strengthening and boosting the national exports and economy by earning precious foreign exchange. They were in dire need of encouragement and patronisation from the government, he said adding that the TDAP should help and encourage the Sialkot exporters at every level, enabling them to  enhance the national exports.
He demanded early release of a special grant of Rs14 million from Export Development Fund (EDF) for the continuity of the ongoing internationally recognised child labour elimination programme from Sialkot’s soccer ball industry and its regular monitoring under the joint supervision of IMAC, SCCI and CSDO.
He narrated that Sialkot’s export oriented industries have been lying deprived of the funds from Export Development Fund (EDF) for long. He said that these funds could help boost exports from Sialkot and local industrial activities.
He added that the Sialkot exporters urged the TDAP to evolve an effective direly needed mechanism for the “proper” use of the Export Development Fund (EDF), which is meant for the promotion and development of the export sector.
He added that the Sialkot exporters deposit Rs450 million annually as Export Development Fund (EDF). Thus, they deserve all the EDF-related incentives for the promotion and enhancement in exports. They pointed out that Sialkot’s export-oriented industries were being ignored regarding distribution of EDF due to lack of mechanism.
He said that the Sialkot exporters have also urged the TDAP to announce a special package of trade relative incentives especially Research & Development funds for upgrading and modernising the export-oriented industries of Sialkot.
Local leading exporters including Riazuddin Sheikh, Muhammad Arif Sethi, Muhammad Arif Sheikh, Muhammad Ayub Khan, Tahir Saleem Mirza, Khalid Pervaiz Mughal, Muhammad Saleem Baryar, Nasir Saleem Mirza, Sheikh Abdul Majeed, Mian Muhammad Anwar, Dr. Sarfraz Bashir and Muhammad Mushtaq Sethi said that the uncontrolled energy crisis and unbearable loadshedding of electricity and gas was crippling the Sialkot industries. They said that the nasty situation was increasing the cost of production, and resulting delay in dispatch of the export consignments to the foreign destinations. The prolonged and unbearable power outages have badly affected the industrial production in Sialkot factories, they said.
They have termed it economic murder of the business community, and demanded early release of their prolonged pending Rs5 billion stuck-up funds.