ISLAMABAD: The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has lauded the government for releasing Rs17.6 billion in various drawback schemes pertaining to the textile value chain.
A delegation of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) met Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razaq Dawood at the Commerce Division on Wednesday.
The APTMA members paid a special tribute to the efforts of the Commerce Division secretary, who expedited the release of Rs17.6 billion in refund claims.
The association appreciated that the second phase of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA) would commence from January 1, 2020, saying that this would provide Pakistan with a valuable opportunity to boost textile exports to China.
The advisor heard the issues pointed out by the APTMA, particularly regarding the issue of quarterly charges on electricity. He assured that a meeting with the prime minister would be arranged early next week for the resolution of the matter.
The adviser said that the government was cognizant of the issues being faced by the industry, adding that the Federal Board of Revenue was fully cooperating with the exporters to simplify the form-H pertaining to refund claims.
Dawood asked the APTMA members to form a close liaison with the Ministry of Commerce in order to formulate ‘3rd Textiles Policy’ which would help address longstanding issues of the textile value chain.
The Commerce Division secretary on the occasion said that the ministry would soon issue a necessary memorandum to give a special status of ‘export-oriented’ to textile, leather, carpet, sports and surgical goods’ sectors. This would help resolve the important issue of reduced RLNG and electricity rates for these sectors, he added.
