Latest news with #KamranArshad
Business Recorder
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Tax-related issues facing APTMA will be resolved, CC LTO Lahore tells office-bearers
LAHORE: Sajjad Tasleem Azam, Chief Commissioner Large Tax Office (LTO) Lahore, has assured APTMA members of solving tax related issues of the textile industry on priority including Sales tax and Income tax refunds, deferred refund claims, adjustment of pending refunds against liabilities and prompt issuance of exemption certificates. He was speaking to APTMA members during his visit to APTMA on Tuesday. He was accompanied by Khaliq Farooq Mian, Commissioner LTO Lahore. Chairman APTMA Kamran Arshad, Chairman North Asad Shafi, Haroon Ellahi, Muhammad Ali, Sufiyan Akhtar senior Executives, and Secretary General Raza Baqir welcomed tax functionaries on their visit to APTMA. Office-bearers and leading members of Chainstore Association of Pakistan (CAP), including Rana Tariq Mehboob Patron-in-Chief CAP, Ahsan Mehmood Senior Vice Chairman CAP, Wasif Sikander of Maria B, top exporters and retailers were also present on the occasion. The Chief Commissioner LTO said the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has established LTOs to address the issues of large taxpayers while acknowledging their role in revenue generation. He appreciated APTMA's role in export and employment enhancement. He said FBR has paid refunds of billions of rupees during the current year, including deferred claims despite facing shortfall in tax targets. He sought a list of APTMA members who were not able to receive refunds so far for expeditious processing of their claims. Replying to the suggestion that the LTO should allow tax adjustment against refund claims, he said that FBR is already processing inter-tax adjustments to facilitate the taxpayers. Chief Commissioner promised to address the problem of shortage of staff to attend tax related issues of exporters. He also sought proposals to improve sales tax refund system. He appreciated the role of chain stores in the economy of Pakistan and providing par excellence service to their customers which is not in any case less than the service provided in the best malls all around the globe. He lauded that tier-I Retailers are all tax compliant and duly integrated with FBR-POS system since 2018 which should encourage others retailers also to integrate with FBR. Earlier, speaking on the occasion, Chairman APTMA Kamran Arshad said tax refunds of a large number of taxpayers are pending with the LTO, causing financial crunch for already crisis-driven textile industry and requested for their immediate disposal to provide financial relief to exporters. Kamran pointed out that a huge amount of sales tax claims are deferred by the FASTER system, which require normal processing by the tax authorities. These deferred claims are needed to be processed immediately as funds worth millions of rupees of every member mill are stuck up, he added. He urged the visiting Chief Commissioner to set up a dedicated cell for processing of all deferred cases with the direction of no pendency for more than one month. In case of staff shortage, he proposed that at least 80 percent of the claimed amount may be sanctioned provisionally to the corporate sector against undertaking. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
12-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
APTMA, US CG discuss ways to foster bilateral trade
LAHORE: Kristin K Hawkins, United States Consul General in Lahore, and All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) office-bearers discussed ways to foster bilateral trade and economic relations between Pakistan and the United States of America. Kamran Arshad, Chairman APTMA, Asad Shafi, Chairman North, Ahmad Shafi, Vice Chairman, Mohammad Qasim, Treasurer, Haroon Ellahi, senior Executive, former Chairman Ali Ahsan, and Secretary General Raza Baqir along with senior members of APTMA representing leading textile groups welcomed Kristin Hawkins, William Campbell, Economic Chief and Amna Anis Economic Specialist. They discussed the enormous potential to work together in the field of cotton and textile besides expanding trade and investment relations in other focused areas reducing trade deficit and diversifying major commodities of trade between both countries in the wake of US reciprocal tariffs. Both sides were of the view that Pakistan has strong potential to grow in textile and other sectors. APTMA leadership continued to focus on engagements and dialogue with their American counterparts to uplift trade volume and to gain maximum benefit of economic partnership between both the countries. Speaking on the occasion, Kamran Arshad made a detailed presentation on textile industry of Pakistan. He pointed out that Pakistan's domestic cotton production has declined over the years and even this year huge quantity of cotton would be required to be imported due to poor cotton crop. He said the major supplier of cotton to Pakistan is the USA. Pakistan is the largest importer of US cotton in the world. He added that the import of US cotton compensate loss in production of local cotton. According to Kamran, the availability of cotton and other inputs is essential for economy of the country as textile constitutes 62% of total exports from Pakistan. Kamran Arshad highlighted issues being faced by textile industry including withdrawal of Regionally Competitive Energy Tariff for both electricity and gas. He specifically mentioned discriminatory tax treatment for local supplies and import of inputs under Export Facilitation Scheme (EFS) which allows tax-free import of raw materials but levies sales tax @ 18% on procurement of locally produced goods. This discrimination has forced closure of 120 spinning mills and more than 800 ginning factories, increasing import of yarn from $340 million last year to $800 million this year. Kamran emphasised for restoration of even playing field both for imports and local supplies under EFS to ensure continuous operations of textile industry as any shut down of textile sector would render millions as jobless, creating catastrophic situation endangering survival of the country. He stressed on evolving a mechanism to import US cotton under GSM-102 against export of textile products to the US. He added that proceeds of Pakistan textile export to the US may be used as collateral through the mechanism of an escrow account whereby this liability is deducted from the export proceeds of Pakistan textile import into the US. Speaking about the strength of the textile industry in Pakistan and further expansion of bilateral trade between the US and Pakistan, Asad Shafi, Chairman North said that the US is Pakistan's largest trading partner with a total bilateral trade of $9.85 billion in 2024. According to him, total exports of Pakistan to the US stood at $5.12 billion out of which $3.93 billion or 77% were textile and apparel. As against this, Pakistan imported $2.14 billion goods from the US in 2024 of which cotton imports were more than $700 million. Asad stressed upon promotion of US cotton linkages with Pakistan textile industry, as well as, promotion of toll manufacturing in Pakistan by US textile industry. He said there is a need for technology transfer to Pakistan for high yielding cotton seed and synergies with US cotton research institutes for better quality. He also sought capacity building of agricultural research institutions in Pakistan and technology transfer for cotton traceability. Asad said that the United States should facilitate entry of international seed companies with transgenic technologies besides introduction of improved, genetically modified, and certified seed. He also spoke on the importance of establishing joint ventures between Pakistan and US investors. Meanwhile, speaker of the Punjab Assembly, Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, met with the United States Chargé d'Affaires, Natalie A. Baker, and US Consul General Kristin Hawkins, at the Punjab Assembly. The Speaker warmly welcomed the distinguished guests and termed their visit to the Assembly as a positive step towards strengthening institutional ties. On this occasion, Malik Muhammad Ahmad appreciated Natalie Baker's constructive and dynamic role in Pakistan, stating that Pakistan–US relations are based on mutual trust and a valued strategic partnership. He emphasized that the United States' proactive and constructive role in ensuring peace in South Asia is of utmost importance. The meeting included detailed discussions on Pakistan–US relations, regional peace, climate change, food security, educational collaboration, and cooperation in other vital sectors. The Speaker expressed a desire to further deepen ties between Punjab and the US state of California, noting that the Pakistani-American community continues to serve as a robust bridge between the two nations. He further remarked that Pakistan views the United States as a key global partner in addressing climate change, development, and food security, and wishes to expand this strategic cooperation even further. Natalie Baker affirmed that the United States aims to further strengthen diplomatic engagement with Pakistan and will continue to support democratic institutions and parliamentary exchanges. Kristin Hawkins expressed her intent to enhance collaboration in the fields of education and social development. The meeting was also attended by Member Provincial Assembly Iftikhar Chachar, Secretary General of the Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Amer Habib, Principal Secretary to the Speaker Imad Hussain Bhalli, and Malik Taimoor Ahmad Khan. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
12-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Imported cotton yarn: APTMA hails 18pc sales tax imposition
ISLAMABAD: The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has appreciated imposing 18 percent sales tax on imported cotton yarn by the government. According to the Association, the budget addressed a major distortion in the market and is a significant step toward resolving the sales tax anomaly in the Export Facilitation Scheme (EFS). It demonstrates the government's commitment to restoring fairness and balance in the domestic textile value chain, and commended this decisive action. However, this correction—while welcomed—is insufficient in scope. After having dealt a severe blow to the spinning sector, the sales tax disparity is now eroding the viability of downstream sectors like weaving. EFS, under which imported inputs for export enjoy a zero percent sales tax rate while local materials for export are taxed at 18 percent, continues to place upstream domestic sectors at a gross disadvantage. Local cotton: Pakistan govt working to abolish 18% GST, says minister Chairman APTMA, Kamran Arshad, in a statement stated that to ensure true competitiveness and sustainability of Pakistan's textile value chain, APTMA strongly urges the government to extend the 18 percent sales tax to all yarns and fabrics, whether cotton or polyester, imported under EFS. Moreover, these imports must be placed on the EFS Negative List, imposing a 5 percent customs duty on yarn and 11 percent on fabric to establish a level playing field and incentivize local manufacturing. Without this, the gains made in one segment will be undone by distortions in another. He said the situation with poly-cotton and polyester yarns is particularly concerning, as they are already approximately 35 percent more expensive to produce domestically. Subjecting local manufacturers to 18 percent sales tax while exempting imported polyester inputs undermines industrial policy objectives and discourages investment in local capacity. APTMA also reiterated its demand for the removal of sales tax on cottonseed and cottonseed cake —by-products of cotton lint- used primarily in livestock feed. These items are not subject to sales tax in any major cotton-producing economy. Imposing 18 percent GST on these products pushes farmers below their cost of production, especially given the price inelasticity of demand, and drives a damaging shift toward more water-intensive crops. This not only imperils water security but also fuels underreporting of cotton production, thereby reducing revenue collection on cotton lint itself. 'We are grateful for the government's attention and responsiveness to industry concerns thus far. However, without extending similar GST treatment to all EFS imports of yarns and fabrics, the crisis faced by spinning will soon replicate in weaving. Yarn feeds into fabric production, and if locally produced fabric is taxed while imported fabric is not, exporters will inevitably choose the cheaper, untaxed import—undermining both the fabric and yarn sectors,' he added. APTMA has urged the government to adopt a comprehensive, value-chain-wide perspective. Partial reforms are insufficient. The core anomaly remains: imported inputs for export are exempted while local inputs are taxed. This policy penalizes domestic value addition, stifles backward linkages, and impedes the very foundation of an export-led growth strategy. Efforts to integrate into global value chains should continue, but not at the expense of domestic industry, employment, and investment. 'APTMA deeply appreciates the government's broader economic reform agenda, which has yielded substantial relief and renewed confidence across the industrial landscape. The reduction in power tariffs from an unsustainable 16–17 cents/kWh to approximately 11 cents/kWh, the successful curbing of back-breaking inflation, and the lowering of interest rates from 22 percent to 11 percent are commendable achievements,' Arshad continued. The Association further stated that these efforts have laid the groundwork for economic stabilization and set the stage for sustainable recovery. To translate this momentum into broad-based industrial growth and export expansion, it is imperative that remaining issues—such as the EFS-related tax anomalies—are addressed comprehensively. With these distortions resolved, the textile value chain can regain its full competitiveness, unlocking investment, job creation, and foreign exchange earnings for Pakistan. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Arab News
04-06-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan textile union warns of capital flight to UAE, urges industrial policies to retain investment
KARACHI: Pakistan is facing the flight of capital, with local industrialists shifting their factories to investor-friendly Middle Eastern countries like the United Arab Emirates due to the lack of favorable industrialization policies at home, Kamran Arshad, chairman of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), said on Tuesday. APTMA represents more than 200 textile millers, which employ the country's largest industrial workforce of more than 40 million people and account for half of the nation's total exports. Its top official made the remark during an interview with Arab News just a week ahead of the country's federal budget that is scheduled to be announced on June 10. 'Pakistani investors are now the second or third largest investors in places like Dubai,' he said during the conversation. 'Yes, there has been a flight of capital,' he continued, adding 'had there been curbs and checks and balances on the flight of capital and favorable industrialization policies, the capital would have remained within Pakistan and it would have gone into agriculture and industry.' Pakistan's government is trying to turn around the country's debt-ridden economy by curtailing imports and increasing exports with the help of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) loan program. The government has emphasized its commitment to creating a more business-friendly environment in recent years, identifying textiles as a central driver in achieving a $60 billion export target by 2029 under its newly unveiled five-year economic framework. Overall, the country's exports rose six percent to $27 billion this year through April, but its textile exports declined more than 13 percent between FY22 and FY24 after hitting a record $19.3 billion in FY22. Arshad maintained this was mainly due to the Export Facilitation Scheme (EFS) introduced last year that did not work well for the sector. Originally envisaged to streamline and incentivize exports by allowing exporters duty- and tax-free access to inputs used in the production of export goods, the scheme benefited importers over local input producers by putting yarn and all varieties of fabric on the EFS. By removing the sales tax exemption from domestically produced inputs like cottonseed and yarn while keeping imported equivalents tax-free, the scheme made local sourcing less competitive for Pakistani manufacturers. 'We fully expect that the government would be considerate and they would honor our request, our demand to remove yarn and fabric of all sorts from the EFS scheme and to create a level playing field,' the APTMA chief said. Separately, at a news conference, he said that while hundreds of local industries had already closed, others were running at partial capacity. 'More than 120 spinning mills and over 800 ginning factories stand closed at the moment,' he said. NO BUYER FOR US COTTON Arshad said the government may not find buyers for the additional cotton it is expected to import from the US if the heavily taxed spinning and ginning factories continue to shut down at the current pace. Pakistan and the US last week began negotiating their 'reciprocal' trade tariffs, with Islamabad aiming to bridge its $3 billion trade surplus with Washington by buying more cotton and soybean to avoid the imposition of 29 percent tariffs on its exports to the US. 'Washington has indicated availability of up to 1.5 million bales for export to Pakistan,' the APTMA chairman told reporters at a press briefing. In the ongoing trade talks, he said one of the offers the Americans were expected to make was the doubling or tripling of cotton exports to Pakistan, which uses cotton as a raw material for its textile industry that fetched $16.7 billion in exports last year. The US is the biggest buyer of Pakistan's exports, mostly textiles, which were valued at $5.44 billion last year through June, according to State Bank of Pakistan data. US Charge d'Affaires Natalie A. Baker last month met Pakistan's commerce minister, Jam Kamal Khan, and cited enhanced cooperation in the cotton sector as a key area for mutual growth, given Pakistan's textile industry's demand for high-quality cotton and the US ability to meet that demand. 'Who will buy this US cotton,' said Arshad, 'while more than 120 spinning mills and 800 ginning factories have already shut down across the country.' He noted the industry was already dealing with the carryover stocks of as much as 800,000 cotton bales from last year while the next crop was about to land. Spinning mills consume most of Pakistan's cotton output, which is falling and halved this year to 7.1 million bales after reaching a record 15 million bales in FY15, according to Pakistan Central Cotton Committee data. Pakistan's annual cotton consumption is about 15 million bales, but a poor crop made it the biggest importer of US raw cotton in FY23, when the dollar-strapped country had to spend billions on importing more than 4 million cotton bales, each weighing 170 kilograms. Arshad said for Pakistan to absorb an increased amount of US cotton, a viable and operational spinning industry was essential. 'Without restoring competitiveness for domestic spinners, additional cotton imports will not materialize,' he added. Pakistan's finance adviser Khurram Schehzad declined to comment on issues related to the textile sector 'before budget,' while finance ministry spokesperson Qamar Sarwar Abbasi did not respond to questions.
Business Recorder
03-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
APTMA demands immediate removal of yarn, fabric from EFS
KARACHI: All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has urged the government to immediately remove yarn and fabric from the Export Facilitation Scheme (EFS), warning that their continued inclusion is jeopardising the domestic textile industry and distorting fair market competition. Addressing a press conference at APTMA House here on Tuesday, Kamran Arshad Chairman APTMA said that inclusion of Yarn and Fabric in the EFS has resulted in unfair market competition as the domestic industry products are paying 18 percent GST, while importers are enjoying tax-free and duty-free regime. He said that Pakistan Cotton Brokers Association (PCBA) and Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) and many other textile associations are supporting APTM's move. APTMA for removing yarn & fabric from ambit of EFS On the occasion, Naveed Ahmed, Chairman of APTMA Southern Zone, Khawaja Muhammad Zubair, Chairman PCBA and Dr Jassu Mal PCGA, Yasin Siddik former chairman APTMA, Asif Inam and others were also present. 'FY25 budget removed sales tax exemption on local inputs under EFS; however, imports are sales tax-free and duty-free. This move is directly hurting the domestic industry', Kamran Arshad He mentioned that some 18 percent sales tax on local inputs is refundable, but refunds are delayed, incomplete, and costly to process, especially disadvantageous to SMEs. Due to this disparity, over 120 spinning mills and 800 ginning factories have already shut down; looms are also closing and loom workers are protesting on streets in Faisalabad. SMEs are specifically disadvantaged as they have fewer channels for import and pay sales taxes at every stage. In addition, only 60 to 70 percent of refunds are issued, while the rest are stuck in manual processing with no progress in the last 4-5 years, he added. 'Due to cheap import of yarn and fabric, exporters strongly prefer imported inputs, resulting in disadvantageous local suppliers.' There is a massive $1.5 billion increase in import of only cotton, yarn and greige cloth compared to export growth of $1.4 billion in FY25. The import of these items rose from $2.19 billion in FY24 to $3.64 billion in FY25, he mentioned. Chairman APTMA said that subjecting local supplies to 18 percent sales tax while bestowing zero rating on imports is an anti-Pakistan policy that is bleeding the economy within. He informed that APTMA has pushed as much as it can for restoration of the EFS to its June 2024 position with sales tax zero-rating on local supplies. 'We have held meetings with the Minister Finance, Chairman and Members FBR, IMF representatives; however, the IMF has not agreed to restoration.' He said a high-level committee was also formed led by Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives of Pakistan for negotiation with IMF; however, the meeting could not hold. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
