Karachi: Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla on Thursday assured the chemicals and dyes trade that the sector’s key taxation, import, Export Facilitation Scheme (EFS) and e-invoicing issues would be taken up at the parliamentary level, with the relevant government departments called in to seek solutions.
Speaking at the annual dinner of the Pakistan Chemicals and Dyes Merchants Association (PCDMA) here at a local hotel, Senator Mandviwalla urged the business community to remain engaged with the government and parliament throughout the year instead of approaching policymakers only around the federal budget.
The PCDMA annual dinner was attended by Chairman Salim Valimuhammad, Vice Chairman Shariq Feroz, Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue Qazi Hifzur Rehman, Chairman BMG Zubair Motiwala, KCCI President Rehan Hanif, PCMA Chairman Haroon Ali Khan, Chaudhry Naseer, Nasir Hayat Magoon, delegation from Faisalabad, and the Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh.
Senator Mandviwalla said chambers and trade associations often raise their demands a week before or during the budget, when most proposals and decisions have already reached an advanced stage, making changes difficult. He advised business bodies to raise issues relating to EFS, the three per cent additional tax and differences between commercial importers and industrial concerns throughout the year.
Senator Mandviwalla assured PCDMA Chairman, Salim Valimuhammad that the issues highlighted by the association would be placed on the Senate committee’s agenda again. The committee, he said, would invite the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Ministry of Finance and other relevant departments to discuss the sector’s concerns.
He said the interests of commercial importers and industrialists were not always identical, but a common ground had to be found to ensure that business activity was not adversely affected. Referring to the exclusion of certain sectors from the EFS, he said the impact of such decisions would also be reviewed on the basis of exports, imports and other relevant policy considerations.
He added that the government had to consider its fiscal targets and IMF commitments while preparing the budget, and any relief given to one sector could sometimes result in an additional burden on another.
Earlier, PCDMA Chairman, Salim Valimuhammad called for urgent measures to prevent misuse of the EFS and eliminate tax disparities, saying the chemical and dyes sector was an important part of the supply chain for textile, leather, pharmaceutical and other export-oriented industries.
He said EFS imports had increased by more than 70 per cent without a corresponding increase in exports. He proposed linking EFS imports with actual foreign remittances or letters of credit, imposing a 40pc limit and introducing annual audits based on an industry’s three-year consumption and export data.
Valimuhammad also called for withdrawal of the three per cent additional sales tax, a level playing field for commercial and industrial importers, and urgent resolution of e-invoicing issues through consultations with the Senate, Ministry of Finance and FBR.
