All export-related issues: IOCO cheif offers to form body with APTMA for solving problems

LAHORE: Input Output Coefficient Organisation (IOCO) of Federal Board of Revenue has offered to constitute a joint committee with All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) to resolve all export-related issues including Input Output Ratio (IOR), wastage determination and other export-related irritants.

Director General IOCO Dr Mubashir Baig Mirza offered to start exercise in coordination with APTMA for upward revision of duty drawback rates fixed through a notification issues about 15 years ago in 2009.

He agreed to the demand of upwardly revising the rates determined on the basis of tariff structure currency exchange rates and values prevailing at that time.

The director general was addressing at a workshop on the export-related issues at APTMA Lahore on Thursday. He was accompanied by Additional Director IOCO Ammara Durrani and other senior officers of the FBR.

Senior Vice-Chairman Kamran Arshad and Secretary General APTMA Raza Baqir welcomed him on the occasion. Leading textile exporters including former chairman APTMA Abdul Rahim Nasir, Anjum Zafar, Muhammad Ali and other senior members of APTMA were present on the occasion.

DG IOCO said that most of the issues are already being looked into by the FBR through a massive exercise launched for automation of the Directorate General, standardisation and consolidation of product wise input output rations, visible and invisible wastages.

The DG FBR agreed with APTMA that around 1.5% invisible wastages occur in textile sector which shall be duly reflected in the analysis certificates. He also endorsed that around one percent moisture wastages occurs in seasonal products like cotton and the same shall be duly intimated to Customs Collectorates and Audit Directorates for uniformity in application.

He conceded that his organisation was short of technical expertise and efforts are underway to overcome this problem by hiring experts from the relevant field. Acceding to the request of APTMA members, the DG IOCO said that it was genuine demand to renew analysis certificates if there was no change in composition of recipe. He added that he would request the FBR to issue necessary clarification in this regard.

He pointed out legal implications in quantifying invisible losses in the industrial processes but admitted that the time has come to work out such losses to change the law and the proposed committee of the two organisations would play vital role in this respect.

He agreed with the proposal of APTMA to take Textile Notes already prepared by a dedicated team of the FBR with ten to fifteen percent plus minus variations.

Earlier Senior Vice Chairman APTMA Kamran Arshad listed down the issues confronting the industry. He said the IOCO was determining consumption without considering condition of plant and machinery and does not account for process loss, visible and invisible losses occurring in textile industry.

Kamran Arshad proposed the IOCO should not cap wastages as the same vary from unit to unit depending on age and specifications of plant and quality of inputs used by different manufacturers.He requested for elimination of delay in determination of input output ratio, issuance of Analysis Certificates due to shortage of staff, non-availability of technical experts and sector specialist and other factors

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022