Yarn merchants demand removing budget anomalies

Yarn merchants demand removing budget anomalies

KARACHI: Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA) has urged the finance minister to remove anomalies in the budget 2022/2023.

In a statement on Friday, Saqib Naseem, Chairman PYMA, Muhammad Junaid Teli, Vice Chairman, Sind & Balochistan region, has drawn attention of Minister for Finance and Revenue, Miftah Ismail over anomalies in Federal Budget 2022-23.

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PYMA office bearers elaborated that Polyester filament yarn (H.S. CODE 5402.3300, 5402.4600, 5402.4700 and 5402.5200), also known as Man-Made Yarn, is the basic raw material for Pakistan’s textile industry.

The share of cotton in global fiber consumption has fallen from nearly 70 per cent back in 1960, to only 27 percent by end 2020. Its place has now been captured by synthetic or man-made yarns.

“A very large SME sector of Pakistan’s textile industry (more than 500,000 looms and knitting machines) consumes Polyester filament yarn. The commercial importers of Polyester Filament yarn act as financiers to this SME sector and entertain the requirements of this SME sector using their own capital and resources,” they said.

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Saqib Naseem, Junaid Teli added that we have seen in the past that whenever the difference in W.H.T is more than 1 per cent on Commercial Imports v/s Industrial Import, majority imports of Polyester Filament yarn shift towards industrial imports which leads to corruption and misuse of this facility and to the exchequer.

They further said that Polyester Filament yarn falls under the category of Raw Materials (SRO 1125) and in the previous budget FY 2021-22, the G.O.P imposed W.H.T at import stage 1 per cent for industrial importers and 2 per cent on commercial. However, in the Federal Budget 2022-23, the G.O.P has kept W.H.T @1 per cent for industrial imports falling under SRO 1125 whereas commercial importers shall be charged W.H.T @3.5 per cent with M.T.R and @ 4 per cent with F.T.R. Polyester filament yarn tariff already exists in the cascading system of polyester value chain & it is already on the higher side.

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Saqib Naseem, Junaid Teli requested Minister for Finance & Revenue, Miftah Ismail to kindly continue with 2 per cent W.H.T with FTR on Commercial Imports on items falling under SRO1125. Furthermore, in view of information from Reliable sources, it has been learned that the government may impose ACD & RD on Polyester Filament Yarn (H.S Code: 5402.3300, 5402.4600, 5402.4700 & 5402.5200).

Since these are basic raw materials of the Textile Industry, therefore we are requesting you not to impose any ACD & RD on these H.S Codes. We would also request you to Rationalize Custom Duty Tariff of POY (5402.4600) & PFDY (5402.4700) @7 per cent instead of present 11 per cent.

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