PTA team meets Ahsan, advocates fixed tax regime for leather sector

KARACHI: Chairman Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) Hamid Zahur and Danish Aman, Vice Chairman PTA along with several members of the association discussed various matters with the Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning, Development, Special Initiatives & Inter Provincial Coordination during meeting at PTA.

With regards to the FBR, Chairman PTA suggested to take the leather sector back to zero rated regime as well as to keep it in the fixed tax regime instead of final tax regime.

He strongly emphasized on the timely disbursement of pending refunds of income tax, sales tax and duty drawback to the leather sector, which are now pending for more than 4 months.

It was suggested to take the business community on board before making policy decisions like the Lien of 3%, 6% and 9% on delayed receipt of export payments from our customers due to increased shipping times and lack of vessel availability at times. When making the annual budget, PTA’s recommendations have not been heard in the past and it was suggested to meet with the leather sector and jointly decide on the policy matters.

The Trade Investment Officers at various embassies of Pakistan were requested to promote a positive image of Pakistan and enhance trade by organizing EPA, PTA and FTA with our key trading partners, like South Korea, Japan, Vietnam and now Bangladesh.

While inviting Ahsan Iqbal to the annual Pakistan Mega Leather Show to be held in Lahore from 26-28th January 2025, Chairman PTA recommended to setup proper slaughtering houses and abattoirs especially for the Eid-ul-Azha, when around 6 million animals are slaughtered and need proper facilities for the storage of hides and skins available then.

The infrastructure and availability of water was also discussed where the Minister assured his personal involvement to improve the overall situation for the businesses in Karachi.

Exports from the Leather Sector now stand at 85% from the value added sector and 15% from the raw material and further efforts need to be made to jointly increase the export of the leather sector to US$2 billion by 2029, in line with the vision of the Planning Ministry under its flagship ‘Uraan Pakistan’ programme.

The meeting ended on a very positive note with the Minister’s assurance to meet the PTA again in February along with the relevant personnel from the Ministry of Commerce, Finance and FBR.

PTA is making strong follow up with the Minister Secretariat for resolution of issues as pointed out during the meeting.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025