PYMA rejects budgetary increase in sales tax on yarn and cloth

Textile sector is considered back bone of Pakistan economy contributing more than 50 percent of foreign exchange for the country and providing 40 percent employment is already heavily burdened and imposition of additional sales tax on yarn and cloth would further suppress the sector. Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA) has rejected budgetary increase in sales tax on yarn and cloth to 3% and 5A% respectively from 2% and 3% previously as anti-trade and industry and termed it a drone attack on yarn and cloth business.

Central Chairman PYMA Qaisar Shamas Guccha, Zonal Chairman Muhammad Akram Pasha and Zonal Vice Chairman Adnan Zahid are demanding withdrawal of yearly incremental sales tax stating that they are already facing cheap yarn import from India and cheap cloth export from Russia which were damaging the local markets due to which they are unable to compete.

The sales tax on yarn and cloth is being increased every year which has made the inputs very costly and textile products are not able to compete with regional countries and further textile export was continuously sliding for the last 11 months by 7 percent.

With increase in sales tax textile sector would face destruction because the yarn and cloth are the base of textile industry and these constitute the basic raw material for sizing, power looms, printing, processing, made ups and garments sectors and million of people and ancillary sectors were directly influenced by yarn and cloth sectors.

The textile sector is already facing energy crisis which has resulted in closure of 40 percent units and huge fall in productivity of the industry. Resultantly, millions of people attacked with this yarn and cloth as well as textile industry and ancillary sectors were facing crisis and unemployment.

PYMA further alleged that the government was consistently ignoring the textile sector and despite persistent decline in export no incentives have been provided in the budget.