LAHORE: The ginners have asked the government not to waive duty and tax on the import of cotton from India.
Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) Chairman Nawab Shahzad Ali Khan, in a statement, said that regulatory duty, sales tax and customs duty on import of cotton should not be withdrawn and it must continue for survival of local farmers and ginners.
The Pakistani Government had imposed a 10 per cent regulatory duty on imports of cotton yarn, grey and processed fabric, particularly from India from November 1, 2015, in a bid to protect the domestic industry by preventing the dumping of cheap raw material.
Shahzad said if tax and duty were waived off on the import of cotton from India, then it would be detrimental to local growers and ginners whose 1.5 million bales were lying unsold. He suggested the Government should wait till the disposal of unsold cotton stock.
The PCGA chairman said that India had been a major beneficiary of duty-free import of cotton yarn by Pakistan for about four years, which had badly hit the domestic industry and agriculture sector. He said there would be a huge loss for the cotton sector if farmers shifted to other crops under a well-planned conspiracy.
