President Federal B Area Association of Trade & Industry (FBATI) Abdullah Abid has urged federal government to permanently withdraw the Industrial Support Package Adjustment (ISPA) arrears and provide relief to the industries.

Abdullah Abid and Masroor Alvi, chairman of a sub-committee of FBATI, reiterated that while K-Electric had deferred ISPA arrears till the April billing cycle to provide relief to industrial customers, this deadline had now been reached and the industries were once again under pressure of paying retrospective ISPA adjustments at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic had already wreaked havoc with industrial prospects.

According to FBATI officials, "It is unreasonable for the federal government to expect that Karachi-based industries can pay 6 months old adjustments at a time when many industries are not even operational and our revenue has been disastrously impacted. Karachi is at the centre of the Corona crisis and this is a time when industries need to be supported so that they can survive and continue to provide employment and livelihood to the people especially with the arrival of Ramazan in just a few days."

According to the statement, the association said that the Ministry of Energy should issue a notification for not collecting ISPA arrears with immediate effect and K-Electric should accordingly be directed not to charge ISPA arrears.

Masroor Alvi said that ISPA had been withdrawn from the rest of the country in July 2019 via an SRO issued.

"Why was a similar notification delayed by more than 6 months for Karachi's industries?" he questioned.

"This issue of adjustments would not have arisen if the notification had been issued in a timely manner. As such FBATI requests the government to take care of these retrospective ISPA adjustments via an industrial subsidy. Not only will this provide tremendous relief to the industries at a time when they need it the most, but it will also enable the sustainability of the country's economic prospects," he said.