SIALKOT: The Sialkot based traders, industrialists and exporters have expressed grave concern over the inordinate delay in the release of customs rebate funds, sales tax, duty drawback, refund cases and said that this inordinate delay was halting the flow of capital in Sialkot’s cottage industries, besides, leaving very bad effects on industrial production.
They said that the Sialkot business community’s Customs rebate funds, sales tax, refund and duty drawback cases (worth of Rs 5 billion) have been lying pending at Customs Collectorate Sialkot and at Regional Tax Office Sialkot, due to which the local traders, industrialists and exporters have been suffering from shortage of investment in local cottage industries in Sialkot.
President Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Fazal Jillani said that the Sialkot exporters have been playing an instrumental role in strengthening and boosting the national exports and economy by earning precious foreign exchange and they were in dire need of encouragement and patronization by the government, saying that the TDAP should help and encourage the Sialkot exporters at every level , enabling them to enhance the national exports, as the TDAP would ensure the easy access of Sialkot exporters to the international and world trade markets.
SCCI President demanded early release of a special grant of Rs 14 million from Export Development Fund (EDF) for the continuity of the ongoing internationally recognized child labour elimination programme from Sialkot’s soccer ball industry and its regular monitoring under the joint supervision of IMAC, SCCI and CSDO at Sialkot.
He narrated that Sialkot’s export oriented industries have been lying deprived of the direly needed funds from Export Development Fund (EDF) for the last several years, as these funds could help to boost exports from Sialkot and local industrial activities as well.
SCCI President added that the Sialkot exporters urged the TDAP to evolve an effective dire needed mechanism for the “proper” use of the Export Development Fund (EDF), which was meant for the promotion and development of country’s export sector.
Fazal Jillani revealed that Sialkot exporters deposit Rs 450 million annually as Export Development Fund (EDF). Thus, they deserve all the EDF-related incentives for the promotion and enhancement in Sialkot exports. They pointed out that Sialkot’s export-oriented industries were being ignored regarding distribution of EDF due to the prolonged lacked mechanism.
He said that Sialkot exporters have also urged the TDAP to announce a special package of trade relative incentives especial the direly needed Research and Development funds for upgrading and modernizing the export-oriented industries of Sialkot.
Local leading exporters including Riaz-ud-Din Sheikh, Muhammad Arif Sethi, Muhammad Arif Sheikh, Muhammad Ayub Khan, Tahir Saleem Mirza, Khalid Pervaiz Mughal, Muhammad Saleem Baryar, Nasir Saleem Mirza, Sheikh Abdul Majeed, Mian Muhammad Anwar, Dr Sarfraz Bashir and Muhammad Mushtaq Sethi added that the uncontrolled energy crisis and unbearable loadshedding of electricity and gas was crippling the Sialkot industries, as the industry was jamming now.
They said that this nasty situation was increasing the cost of production, saying that this nasty situation was resulting inordinate delay in timely dispatch of the export consignments to the foreign destinations, as the prolonged and unbearable power outages have badly affected the industrial production in Sialkot factories.
