PESHAWAR: The Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) said the other day that non-payment of refunds has become a threat to the export sector and the fragile economy.
The policy of blocking refunds to show improved revenue collection has taken a toll on the external sector which was already reeling under the energy crisis and other issues, it said.
The situation can be gauged from the falling exports which has pushed the trade deficit to 30 billion dollars in the eleven months while the deficit of the last year’s eleven months was 21.1 billion dollars, said Atif Ikram Sheikh, Chairman FPCCI Regional Committee on Industries, in a statement.
He said falling exports and increasing imports can result in a balance of payments crisis therefore the government should change its attitude towards the export sector.
According to the law, refund claims must be cleared within 45 days but the authorities continue to block the payments since years which damaged the export sector, especially the textile sector, he added.
Atif Ikram Sheikh said the authorities continue to play havoc with exporters by blocking their refunds as the refunds are included in the collection to show growth which is a deception with a high cost.
Holding back refunds creates liquidity crunch for exporters who are hardly surviving due to the high cost of energy and other problems, adding that the situation can be improved if refund mechanism is fully automated.
He said exporters are running from pillar to post since years to get refunds but they are not being entertained. He said delay in refund payments has closed many businesses while leaving others at the mercy of loan sharks which is slowly and surely killing the export sector.
