The Sindh Employees Social Security Institution (Sessi) has issued a warrant against a leading bed-linen exporter, Shabir Ahmed, for non-payment of educational cess to the tune of Rs 220,500. The non-payment covers a period from 1994-95 to 2002-03.
Shabir Ahmed told Business Recorder on Tuesday that he was served with the warrant after he returned from the Heimtextil fair in Frankfurt.
He said he was shocked on receiving warrant for the payment demand, which is totally unjust. He has been threatened with closure of factory, if he did not pay the Sessi dues.
Shabir Ahmed said while the federal government in its tax reforms was focusing on facilitation rather than harassment of taxpayers, the institutions like Sessi were still pursuing the old doctrine to recover payments under duress.
He said the successive governments had repeatedly promised exporters that they would merge about 20 local taxes into one and make arrangements for their payment by exporters through a one-window system, adding in the absence of such a system provincial departments were raising illegal demands against exporters, and were harassing them to either make payment or make a deal.
Talking about facilities provided to the factory workers by Sessi, Shabir said the Sessi clinic at the West Wharf presented a haunted look and workers suffering from high fever were turned back without any treatment due to the absence of the doctor.
Comments
Comments are closed.