Pakistan Apparel Forum demands release of pending refunds

Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, chairman of Pakistan Apparel Forum, demanded release of long pending refunds of exporters from the government, which would help tackle the persistent decline in textile and apparel product exports to a certain extent. These pending refunds include custom rebate claims, WHT claims, DLTL claims, sales tax refunds, etc.

According to Bilwani, exports of knitwear dropped 3.44 per cent, garments fell 3.60 per cent and of all other textile products decreased 1.30 per cent in January 2017, as against January 2016.

“In the period July to January of fiscal 2011, exports of textile were $7.45 billion, while in the same period of fiscal 2017, they stand at $7.34 billion,” he was quoted as observing by Pakistan media reports.

He attributed the decline in exports to tough competition from other countries due to the ever-rising cost of production and persistent liquidity crunch.

Bilwani also demanded the government to lower tariffs of gas, water and electricity and bring it at par with competitors of Pakistan, which would offer a boost to textile exports. (AR)