KARACHI: Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA) has demanded the government to reduce customs duty and abolish anti-dumping duty on import of polyester yarn.
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Gul Ahmed announces 67% growth in quarterly profit
KARACHI: Gul Ahmed Textile Mills Ltd. (GATM) on Friday declared over 67 per cent growth in after tax profit for the quarter ended September 30, 2021.
According to the financial results shared with the Pakistan Stock Exchange, the textile unit declared Rs1.167 billion as profit after tax for the first quarter (July – September) 2021 as compared with profit after tax of Rs697 million in the same quarter of the last fiscal year.
The company declared earnings per share at Rs2.73 for the period under review as compared with Rs1.63 in the same period of the last fiscal year.
The sales of the company increased to Rs24.64 billion during the quarter ended September 30, 2021 as compared with Rs20.32 billion in the same quarter of the last year.
The textile unit declared gross profit at Rs5.04 billion for July-September 2021 as compared with Rs3.69 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.
The board of directors of Gul Ahmed Textile Mills Limited in its meeting held on October 28, 2021 approved the financial results. The board has not recommended any cash dividend, bonus shares or right shares.
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KCCI urges SBP to restore PKR at Rs150 to dollar
KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has sought State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) intervention to reverse back the Pak Rupee (PKR) to Rs150 against the dollar.
Chairman Businessmen Group (BMG) and Former President KCCI Zubair Motiwala in a statement issued on Thursday expressed deep concerns over the continuous devaluation of Pakistani rupees against the dollar which after surpassing Rs175 level was still hovering above Rs170.
He urged the government that it was high time the State Bank, being the regulator, must intervene to stop the further freefall of PKR and devise some kind of an effective mechanism for appreciating the value of the Pakistani rupee to such an extent that the dollar reverses back to its previous level of Rs150 with a view to reducing the impact of inflation on the common man.
“On the other hand, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), which has been taking advantage of higher dollar value, must also be directed to either bring down taxes and duties or keep them charging at the same rate but the calculation for taxes and duties must be done as per dollar rate of June 2021 when the budget was announced and the dollar at that point in time stood at around Rs150 instead of current rate which would certainly help in controlling the inflation”, he added while speaking at a meeting held during the visit of a delegation from All Pakistan Motorcycle Spare Parts Importers & Dealers Association (APMSPIDA) which was led by Rehan Hanif.
Vice Chairman BMG Anjum Nisar, President KCCI Muhammad Idrees, Senior Vice President Abdul Rehman Naqi, Vice President Qazi Zahid Hussain, Patron-in-Chief APMSPIDA Faisal Khalil, Former Presidents KCCI Majyd Aziz, Haroon Agar, Abdullah Zaki, Iftikhar Vohra, Younus Muhammad Bashir, Shamim Ahmed Firpo, Shariq Vohra and others attended the meeting.
Chairman BMG pointed out that at the time when Federal Budget for current fiscal year 2021-22 was announced in June 2021, the US dollar stood at Rs155 and all the duties and taxes were estimated as per the then dollar rate. As the dollar after surpassing Rs175 level was still hovering above Rs170, it means that the duties and taxes have also risen sharply, which was the core reason behind fostering the inflation.
He explained that out of the total differential amount of more than Rs15 as the dollar still hovers above Rs170 as compared to the previous rate of Rs155 in June 2021, at least 40 percent of the said differential amount i.e., Rs6 on each dollar was silently being collected by FBR in shape of taxes and duties which was highly unfair as it adds to the cost imported goods and escalates inflation.
He was of the opinion that a target of Rs5800 billion was set for revenue collection for FY 2021-22 at a time when dollar rate stood at Rs155 hence, the extra money being collected nowadays due to sharp rise in dollar rate must not be considered as an achievement by FBR but as penalty on masses and the business community as it was the FBR which has been playing a major role in fostering the inflation and overburdening the economy.
Zubair Motiwala said that due to rising dollar rate, high cost of doing business, frequent gas outages, deteriorating infrastructure and other civic issues along with a drastic decline in purchasing power, the local industries have been suffering terribly and facing a severe liquidity crunch which has resulted in limited business activities and it was really unfortunate that the government was not coming up with any workable solution for dealing with all these issues.
Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chairman BMG Anjum Nisar, while expressing deep concerns over deteriorating economic indicators, stated that economic uncertainty has killed the total business environment, leaving the survival of many businesses at stake in the ongoing era of the highest ever inflation. “Currency, which is considered as a barometer of any economy, cannot be allowed to fall freely as it creates a lot of problems not only for the businesses but also for the economy and the common man”, he added.
President KCCI Muhammad Idrees said that devaluation of rupees against the dollar and widening trade account deficit if not promptly addressed would create a nightmarish situation not only for the economy and businesses but also for the common man whose purchasing power has descended sharply nowadays and was hardly in a position to ensure bread and butter for his family. “Dollar rate which impacts prices of almost all the household items and raw material has to be controlled by SBP otherwise, the businesses will not be able to stay afloat due to high cost of doing business, unemployment would rise and the situation may trigger even unrest”, he added.
Leader of APMSPIDA delegation Rehan Hanif, in his remarks, pointed out that importers and dealers of motorcycle spare parts have been facing a lot of problems as motorcycle spare parts remain in the 3rd Schedule list, making it mandatory to put MRP (Retail Price) including GST on motorcycle spare parts at import stage before shipment which was not possible keeping in view the diverse range of hundreds and thousands of spare parts. Moreover, it was a well-known fact that sales of imported spare parts are made all over the country and the freight charges cannot be the same for every city while the fluctuation in exchange rates was also an issue hence it was impossible to calculate MRP in such a varying situation, he added.
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PSW to link 27 banks for trade facilitation
KARACHI: Naveed Abbas, Additional Director and Chief Domain Officer, Pakistan Single Window (PSW) has said that 27 banks will be integrated with the PSW for the facilitation of import and exports.
He was addressing at an orientation session organized by Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA) on Wednesday.
He said that the facility will help reduce time, cost, and complexity to ensure ease of business, besides supporting the government agencies in adopting an integrated risk management approach for efficient enforcement of control on cross-border trade.
Under the PSW platform, he said, an ICT-based port community system will also be established and all stakeholders including FIA, Customs, terminal operators, and others will be integrated for efficient cargo management at seaports, airports, dry ports, and land border crossings.
The implementation of PSW by June 2022 will enable Pakistan to achieve compliance with WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement besides helping to unlock its potential in becoming a hub for trade and transit.
He informed that thousand of registrations have been received so far in the PSW portal whereas 27 banks will also be integrated with PSW which would save the business community from visiting banks to fulfill the requirement of Export and Import forms. Right now in the first phase, PSW have five large banks integrated and other are under process.
Yawar Nawaz, Additional Director (PSW) gave a detailed presentation on the main context of Pakistan Single Window (PSW) is to efficient cross border trade management – key enabler for FDI, GVCs integration, International Trade & Transit; 75 Regulators – working in silos with weak controls, limited resources, antiquated regulations/enforcement; Resultant Thick Borders – nullifies strategic location of Pakistan & investment in allied infrastructure and NSW to overhaul management of external trade/transit & fulfil commitment under WTO’s TFA.
The Scope of PSW is that Single ICT based National Trade Platform for processing cross border trade; Process re-engineering & back-end automation of participating government departments; Port Community System for removing logistic side inefficiencies; Integrated Risk Management for smarter controls, compliance & facilitation; Integrated Tariff Management System for simplified compliance; A robust Business Model for sustainable operations & phased expansion.
The Core Services of PSW are Integrated Tariff Management System, Unified Registration System, Unified e-Payment System, Integrated Lab Management, Integrated Risk Management System, Joint Inspections, Port Community System, Trade Information Portal, Alignment of WeBOC, Hardware, Change Management and Implementation Plan.
The Cardinals for PSW is to eliminating redundancy & duplication, least physical engagement among stakeholders, use of standardized and harmonized data elements, incremental submission of structured data with parallel processing, automatic routing & verifications and real time information exchange. Samar Jamil, BPM Head (PSW) briefed the Registration Process step by step.
After detailed presentation, exporters asked several questions related to PSW which was answered by the PSW Team of Officials.
Muhammad Jawed Bilwani Chief Coordinator & Former Central Chairman PHMA welcomed the PSW Officials at PHMA for this orientation seminar to enlighten the exporters about the main features of PSW which will provide single electronic platform for facilitating compliance with regulatory regime for cross border trade in Pakistan and to answer questions asked by exporters.
Shahzad Azam Khan, Central Chairman PHMA; Abdul Rehman, Chairman (SZ) PHMA; Abdul Kadir Bilwani, Senior Vice-Chairman; Faisal Arshad Shaikh, Vice-Chairman also participated in the Seminar and appreciated this imperative initiative which is a need of time to provide single and unified platform for business requirements which will decrease the cost of manufacturing and shall increase the ease of doing business.
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Yarn Merchants demand massive cut in POL prices
KARACHI: Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA) has demanded Prime Minister Imran Khan of massive reduction in prices of petroleum products in order to make industrial activities viable.
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Industry protests over 20% additional ST on electricity
KARACHI: Industry has strongly protested over imposition of 20 per cent additional sales tax on supply of electricity and said it will destroy the industrial activities and result in mass unemployment.
Faisal Moiz Khan, President, North Karachi Association of Trade & Industry (NKATI) in a statement on Saturday expressed deep concerns over the imposition of 20 per cent additional sales tax on electricity bills by K-Electric and by strongly protested.
He demanded the government to withdraw the increase immediately and K-Electric should be stopped from looting the industrial community.
The imposition of additional taxes on electricity will lead to destruction and a flood of unemployment.
In a statement, NKATI president said that 20 per cent additional sales tax has been levied on the electricity bills sent to industries by K-Electric.
While KE is already levying 17 per cent sales tax on electricity bills, so there is no justification for imposing an additional 20 per cent sales tax.
“Forcible collection of additional sales tax from registered consumers in sales tax is a total injustice which will increase the cost of production immensely. Which will have a very bad effect on the country’s exports and industrial production activities”, he said.
Faisal Moiz Khan demanded the government to take notice of the imposition of 20% additional sales tax on electricity bills by K-Electric and withdraw this decision immediately and provide a conducive business and industrial environment in line with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision of making it easier to do business and run industries. Otherwise, it will be impossible for industrialists to run their own factories
NKATI president further said that if the government wants industries to flourish and create more employment opportunities, then anti-business and anti-industrial measures must be avoided, so that the domestic industries can get back on their feet in the face of the dire economic situation due to COVID-19 pandemic.
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FPCCI demands replacing SBP governor
KARACHI: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Friday demanded the government of replacing the governor of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
“The business, industry and trade community of Pakistan demands a better, more competent and responsible leadership at the helm of the affairs at State Bank of Pakistan,” said Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo, President FPCCI while criticizing irresponsible and fictitious statement by the Governor SBP on deprecating value of Pakistani Rupee and how it is benefiting Pakistan.
FPCCI Chief said that there is no economic sense and justification in the statement that Pakistan has gained around $3 billion due to recent depreciation in Pak Rupee. He added that the ground realities are diametrically opposite than that of assertions by SBP Chief.
Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo emphasized that monetary policy should be devised in a manner to promote economic growth and bring stability in the economic indicators; however, monetary policy has failed to achieve any of the above.
Nasir Khan, VP FPCCI, has said that unrelentingly depreciating exchange rate is playing a havoc with Pakistani society and the economy. This is unsustainable and the Prime Minister should intervene – in the larger national interest – immediately to arrest the slide in the value of Pak Rupee.
Nasir Khan said that the government must address the domestic and imported inflation through its monetary and fiscal policies; instead of making lame excuses.
Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo said that hardly any justification exists in continuation of the present Governor SBP. In fact, ethically speaking, he should prefer to resign himself in view of totally indefensible policy structure given by SBP.
Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo has also demanded a binding inquiry into the conduct of SBP in recommending sweeping tax concessions for non-resident companies to attract investments in government debt at very high rates to favor certain foreign commercial banks. The same conduct of Governor SBP is part of the history archives, when he was in Egypt.
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Karachi Chamber assures traders of resolving issues
KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has assured traders of Jodia Bazaar of taking up their issues with the authorities and get them resolved.
Chairman Businessmen Group (BMG) Zubair Motiwala and President Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) Muhammad Idrees, after listening to the hardships being faced by traders of Jodia Bazaar, assured that the Karachi Chamber will take up all issues being faced by the traders/ shopkeepers of Jodia Bazaar with relevant quarters and will try its best to get them amicably resolved so that the traders and shopkeepers, who are an integral part of KCCI, could smoothly carry out their activities without any hassle.
The assurance was given at a meeting during the visit of a delegation from Jodia Bazaar which was led by Haroon Agar to congratulate the newly elected office bearers. Senior Vice President KCCI Abdul Rehman Naqi, Vice President Qazi Zahid Hussain and KCCI Managing Committee also attended the meeting whereas Jodia Bazaar delegation comprised of Waseem-ur-Rehman, Hanif Pochi, Najam Chughtai, Arif Lakhani, Asif Haji Karim, Javed Qadri, Aslam Nathani and others.
While highlighting numerous issues, Leader of Jodia Bazaar delegation Haroon Agar pointed out that skim milk, which was not a luxury item, was subjected to imposition of Sales Tax which is a serious anomaly that raises the cost of this important household products. Hence, the Federal Board of Revenue should be approached with a request to look into the possibility of exempting this product from Sales Tax, he added.
He further mentioned that due to massive number of Kunda Connection all over Jodia Bazaar, the area frequently undergoes massive load shedding every day which creates a lot of problems even for the legitimate consumers of KE who, despite paying all their outstanding dues, have to suffer badly due to someone else’s misconduct.
“KCCI must take up this matter with higher authorities at KE so that the utility service provider could be convinced to minimize load shedding and remove all Kunda connections in this area where massive trading activities of up to billions of rupees take place every day.
He further highlighted the grievances being faced by traders of Jodia Bazaar due to massive smuggling of various products including milk, spices and plastic etc. which were entering Pakistan in bulk quantities from Afghanistan via Chaman, making the legal trade of all these products uncompetitive in the local markets.
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FBR to replace IRIS for tax payments: CCIR RTO
KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to introduce a new and efficient system for payment of all kind of tax payments, said a top tax official.
“We will introduce a new and efficient system replacing IRIS in which all kinds of taxes can be easily paid in one place,” a press statement quoted Tariq Mustafa Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue, Regional Tax office (RTO) Karachi as saying on Wednesday.
According to the statement issued by Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) the CCIR said that it was not the policy of FBR to impose more burden on the taxpayers.
The RTO Chief said that the issues raised by KATI would not only improve the regional tax office but also benefit the FBR. He said that after 2013, tax refund payments were in a halt. Under the current system, there is no problem of refunds.
Refunds are now paid immediately through the modern automated system, we are hold accountable for non-payment of refunds.
KATI members can contact me for any complaint regarding FBR. My doors are open to all members, he said.
KATI President Salman Aslam, KATI CEO Zubair Chhaya, Tax Liaison Committee Chairman Masood Naqi, Senior Vice President Maheen Salman, Former Presidents Saleem-uz-Zaman, Tariq Malik, Farhan-ur-Rehman, Rashid Siddiqui, Johar Qandhari, Ehteshamuddin, Syed Farukh Mazher and a large number of other members including were present.
Earlier, KATI President Salman Aslam welcomed the arrival of Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue Tariq Mustafa in KATI and said that the industrialists were concerned over the reports of freezing the accounts of defaulters. He said that to increase further revenues tax net needs to be widened, adding that harassment of taxpayers would not increase revenue.
President KATI said that new policies should be formulated to facilitate the tax system so that the industrialists consider paying taxes without any fear as a national duty.
KITE CEO Zubair Chhaya said that, we have been made withholding agent without any compensation and instead of encouragement, we have been issued monitoring notices from 2014 to date.
The government should encourage withholding agents. He said that in terms of filers and non-filers, non-filers save their lives by paying extra tax once while filers go through various notices and audits despite paying taxes.
A policy should be formulated in consultation with the stakeholders to widen the scope of taxation.
Facilities should be provided to the industrialists of Karachi so that the industries can be promoted and the national revenue can be further increased.
On the occasion, Chairman Tax Liaison Committee Masood Naqi said that a focal person should be appointed to facilitate the industrialists of Korangi and FBR who could provide immediate assistance to the members of KATI.
He said freezing accounts and imposing heavy fines would discourage taxpayers as they would not be able to pay heavy fines due to the post-COVID economic crisis.
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FPCCI rejects hike in petroleum, electricity prices
The Businessmen Panel (BMP) of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FPCCI) has rejected hike in prices of petroleum products and electricity.
BMP Chairman Mian Anjum Nisar, while strongly reacting to increase in electricity base tariff by Rs 1.39 per unit for the second time in one year, along with exorbitant hike of Rs10.49 per litre in petrol prices, has said that the government has declared another minibudget by burdening the trade and industry with billions of rupees new taxes in the form of huge increase in electricity, gas and petroleum rates.
FPCCI’s Businessmen Panel Chairman Mian Anjum Nisar observed that the government has raised the petroleum product price for the third consecutive time in one month period, lifting it by more than Rs20 per litter to Rs137.79 per litre, as the authorities hiked the oil prices by Rs4.50 on Sept 16, then by Rs5.50 on Oct 1 and now by Rs10.49 per litter on Oct 16, 2021.
“It is unfortunate that the authorities had reduced the petroleum rates just by Rs1.50 one and a half months back on Sept 1, 2021,” he added.
Moreover, the federal government has announced to increase electricity base tariff by Rs 1.39 per unit across the country from Nov 1, while it had already enhanced the base power tariff by Rs 1.95 per unit in January this year along with quarterly and monthly electricity price hike under fuel adjustment formulas, totaling the power price hike to over Rs5 per unit, he claimed.
He said that the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has allowed an increase of Rs1.65 per unit in power tariff, under quarterly adjustments, which will empower the distribution companies to collect Rs173 billion from consumers in the next one year. He said that the trade and industry were expecting some relief at the expiry of early adjustments of Rs1.62 per unit on Sept 30, 2021, however, the NEPRA announced the transfer of new adjustments equal to Rs1.65 per unit to the consumers with effect from Oct 1, 2021.
FPCCI former president rejected the increase in power prices along with the periodic hike in rates of petroleum products. He said the increase in power and fuel prices will increase the cost of production for the industrial section which in turn will impact the ease of doing business and exports. This will ultimately hit the economy as envisioned by the Prime Minister, he maintained.
Condemning the government’s move, the ruling group chief of apex chamber said the increase was being done to meet the conditions of the International Monetary Fund.
It is unfortunate that Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin had pledged a day earlier – on October 14, 2021 in Washington DC while attending the annual meeting of IMF – that electricity tariff will not be increased.
Rejecting the latest increase in electricity and petroleum prices, he termed it a cruel decision by the authorities, which will bring the economy to a grinding halt. Millions more will be unemployed while millions are facing abject poverty and starvation. Imposition of 17 per cent sales tax on exempted items, increase in petrol, electricity prices is not just for the economy, he said.
He further said the government had dropped a new bomb on the trade and industry at a time when inflation and unemployment was at an all-time high and the economy was facing total collapse because of government’s incompetence.
The government blindly acted on the terms of the IMF and did not bother to care about the public interest. He warned that severe inflation was creating a serious problem of economic viability of the country which was not a good omen for Pakistan.
Businessmen Panel Chairman Mian Anjum Nisar said the constant increases in energy rates on the behest of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would make the Pakistani products uncompetitive in the international market.
He opposed the government’s move of raising power tariff by more than Rs5 per unit, besides lifting rates of petroleum products twice a month to qualify for the revival of the stalled $6 billion IMF loan program, leading the economy towards point of no return due to interference of the International Monetary Fund.
Mian Anjum Nisar said it was imperative to make power and gas tariffs for domestic, as well as export sectors compatible with the tariff being applied in regional and neighboring countries.