Faisalabad: Imran Mehmood Sheikh, Central Chairman All Pakistan Bed sheets and Upholstery Manufacturers Association (APBUMA), has welcomed the Prime Minister’s historic address to the D-8 Summit in Cairo in which he clearly spelled out the importance of youths and the SME sector as the key drivers for the economic development.
He said that after this policy statement by the Prime Minister of Pakistan at a global forum, government departments concerned and the FBR should realign their policies by investing in youths and diverting maximum resources towards the SME sector. He said that APBUMA is the largest trade body of the SME sector which was experiencing a liquidity crunch due to stuck-up refund claims. He clarified that refunds are not a favor but it is the taxes already paid by SMEs despite their limited financial resources. Hence, the government must clear these refunds on top priority.
He stressed the need to clear refunds of DLTL/DDT so that economic activities could be generated in addition to creati
ng job opportunities for the unemployed youth. He lamented a budgetary allocation of Rs.10 billion as against the accumulated DLTL/DDT refunds of Rs.35 billion. He said that this allocation is insufficient to put the SME sector back on the growth trajectory. He said that the government should realize that as it was facing financial constraints, the position of the SME sector is more vulnerable. ‘The SME sector needs immediate refunds so that it could get maximum export orders and give a quantum jump to exports,” he said and requested the PM to issue a clear directive to the FBR to clear all refund claims of DLTL/DDT and as the situation is improving it should clear the remaining backlog of income tax and sales tax refunds to extend practical financial support to the SME sector.