KARACHI: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has urged the government to remove various duties on the import of leather and the quarantine requirements on import of raw hides and skins.
FPCCI President Ghazanfar Bilour made the demand while talking to a delegation of Pakistan Tanners Association, which was led by its Chairman Amanullah Aftab, here a the Federation House Tuesday.
Chairman, United Business Group in FPCCI and former president FPCCI, S M Muneer, FPCCI Senior Vice President Syed Mazhar Ali Nasir and Vice President Tariq Haleem, Secretary General FPCCI Dr. Iqbal Thaheem, Former chairman PTA and former vice president FPCCI Gulzar Firoz, other officials of the association Ejaz Bhomal, Aziz Ahmed, Shafi Ahmed, Imran Sheikh. also attended the meeting, an FPCCI press statement said.
The delegation apprised the FPCCI president of the problems being faced by the leather sector in the country.
Ghazanfar Bilour maintained that additional regulatory duty on import of various basic tanning chemicals and quarantine requirement imposed by the government were hampering the productivity of the leather sector which ultimately affected the leather exports.
He said that it was the second largest export earning sector representing highly dynamic, value adding and job providing industry. This sector should also be provided lab testing facility at subsidized rates, matching grant for setting up effluent treatment plants, unilateral slashing down the rates of duty drawback on export of finished leather goods and accelerating the process of releasing duty draw back, sales tax, income tax and DLTL claims.
S.M. Muneer said the government should take suitable measures to enhance the country’s exports. He said despite global recession and other domestic and international bottlenecks, the tanning industry was active in export of leather and allied goods.
