Chairman, Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (Punjab and Khyber Pakhtoonkhaw Zone), Syed Fahim Mehmood Shah announced on Thursday that Faisalabad Yarn Market will remain closed till March 27. Local industrialists, yarn dealers, powerlooms owners and workers took out protest rallies against taxation, gas loadshedding and observed the Black Day, here on Thursday.
The yarn market remained closed for fourth consecutive day. Likewise, sizing factories also remained closed on fifth consecutive day. Meanwhile, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) suspended gas supply to the 600 industrial units and 380 CNG stations for 48 hours, which will continue till Saturday (tomorrow).
Talking to newsmen, Shah expressed grave concern over the taxation SROs and said it was not possible to run yarn business in the presence of anti-trading and anti-industrialisation policies. Nobody bothered to listen to the problems of business community and enforced mini-budget.
He expressed grave concern over the levy of 17% sales tax and flood duty and opined that the yarn business in Faisalabad, which was already facing crisis, would further deteriorate. He further said that under such circumstances it was not possible for yarn merchants to continue their businesses. If the imposition of sales tax was inevitable, it should be levy on manufacturing of the goods, he added.
Earlier, addressing a meeting of the Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA), he disclosed that a joint meeting of, PYMA, All Pakistan Cotton Powerlooms Association, Pakistan Sizing Industries Association and All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association has been convened by Chairman Federal Board of Revenue at Islamabad on Saturday (tomorrow) to discuss the issue. If negotiation were not successful, yarn market will be closed permanently, he warned.
Addressing a protest rally at Chowk Clock Tower, Shakeel Ahmad Ansari, Chairman, Pakistan Sizing Industries Association announced that if their demands would not be met the strike of sizing factories would remain continue for indefinite period. He said that sizing factories not purchasing yarn and not selling it then why they are being taxed.
Talking to newsmen, Chaudhry Salamat Ali, Chairman, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA) North Zone pointed out that the promulgation of new ordinances by President Zardari and sales tax notification SRO 231(1)/2011 and said that there are so many confusions among the manufacturers and exporters regarding the ordinances/amendments on withdrawal of zero rating facility on sales tax on textile exports. In SRO 231(1)/2011, words "BETWEEN" and the words "AND EXPORTERS" created ambiguity. He mentioned that word between implies that only transactions between registered manufacturers-cum-exporters will qualify for zero rating facility. Practically, the exporters purchase raw material textile yarn from open market, from yarn traders who are not exporters. Yarn traders will charge sales tax from exporters then where is zero rating, he asked. Similarly, commercial exporters get fabric (Grey Cloth) from powerloom industry (who are not exporters) and get it dyed, printed from processing units, they will charge sales tax so where zero rating stands then, he questioned.
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