The Punjab government on Tuesday amended the Cotton Control Act of 1966, increasing the cotton fee from 10-paisa per kilogram to Re1. New provisions of this act would come into force from September 1 this year. According to a proposal, the annual fee for four-saw gin machines factory was increased to Rs 6,000 from Rs 4,000.
Factories of five-saw gin machines will pay Rs 7,500, instead of Rs 5,000, Cotton pressing fee was increased to Rs 1,500 from Rs 1,000, fee for seed oil factory will now be Rs 375 instead of Rs 250, fee for issuance of duplicate licence copy was increased to Rs 750, fee for establishing new cotton ginning factory wll be Rs 7,500 instead of Rs 5,000, Fee for expansion, alteration in cotton ginning and pressing factories Rs 3000 instead of Rs 2,000, any amendment, alterations in the licence of cotton seed oil factory will be made after payment of a fee of Rs 7,500. Previously, this was Rs 5,000.
Chairman of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) Amanullah Qureshi expressed his concern on the revision of cotton fee describing it an anti-farmer move. He said that the provincial government planned to recover Rs 6.3 billion from cotton growers and ginners by increasing cotton fee by 10 time and other fees by 50 percent. Earlier, the government was realising Rs 630 million from farmers.