Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) has decried the proposal in the budget to link the research & development (R&D) facility with volume of exports. In an emergent meeting held here on Thursday the PTEA members took strong exception to the proposal and described it as highly contradictory, discriminatory and distortive.
Addressing the newsmen after the meeting Tahir Ishaque Bharara, Chairman PTEA said that research & development facility was already being given on percentage basis on exports and every exporter was getting R&D proportionally hence there was no logic on proposing the R&D on volume basis. The proposal therefore, is self-contradictory not viable and impractical.
The association further apprehended that the proposal would create discrimination among the big and small exporters and only the big exporters will be getting benefit out of the new proposal while the small and medium exporters would stand totally eliminated from the scheme.
The PTEA chairman emphasised that every exporter whether big or small is playing a positive role in earning foreign exchange for the country. He reiterated that policy on the basis of volume will not be workable nor it will be acceptable to all textile exporters, as it will decrease the textile exports of the country.
The PTEA chairman demanded that R&D support facility should be given across the board and without any discrimination between all textile exporters. He further demanded that the prevailing policy of R&D should be continued for the next fiscal year 2008-09 to all exporters.
The chairman PTEA highlighted that at this moment the issue is only to continue the existing R&D policy and there is no issue regarding distribution. The distribution method already existing is quite correct and there is no need to change the distribution system between the exporters, he said.