Industrialists, manufacturers, exporters and traders have expressed their concern over proposed increase in sales tax on exports from two to five percent, mentioning that it would greatly hamper exports to play havoc with the value-added export sector of South Punjab.
Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) President Khawaja Muhammad Usman said that government should not consider any proposal to enhance GST on exports otherwise this step would be detrimental to the exports. In a press statement issued on Tuesday, he said that increase in prices of raw materials, rising tariff of electricity and gas and its non-availability have already increased the cost of doing business putting the export sector under immense duress.
He said it has become increasingly difficult for the exporters to compete in the international market and to fulfil orders of the foreign buyers. Khawaja Muhammad Usman said the issue of 1 per cent withholding sales tax imposed on purchases from non-registered sales tax suppliers was hurting the export sector SMEs badly and has already created an additional financial burden on the export sector of South Punjab. Therefore, any further burden would crush the SMEs based export sector that is struggling for survival, he cautioned. The MCCI President strongly recommended that any proposal to enhance sales tax on export should be abolished.
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