The Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin, held a meeting with a delegation of exporters at the Finance Division today.
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The session was chaired by the Advisor to the PM on Commerce, Mr. Abdul Razak Dawood. In his opening remarks, the Advisor on Commerce welcomed the representatives of exporters and commended their role for putting exports on a high growth trajectory during testing times due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
He affirmed full support and facilitation to resolve the liquidity crisis faced by the exporters.
In his remarks, Finance Minister, Shaukat Tarin, urged to adopt a forward-looking approach for enhancing export earnings to reduce the trade deficit. He directed to find a win-win situation with reference to protracted issues for taking our value-added exports to the next level.
He emphasized the need for robust and sustained growth in exports on an immediate basis.
The Finance Minister also appreciated the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industries and Production, and the State Bank of Pakistan for their outstanding support and timely interventions for the small and medium industries amid COVID-19.
While responding to queries related to the current energy requirements, the Finance Minister stressed the need for load management by switching to alternative fuel options during the peak demand period. He directed to form a working group comprising of representatives from respective utility organizations for a prompt action to fulfill energy requirements on a real-time basis in respective areas.
The Finance Minister assured swift payments to the exporters against their refunds. He directed FBR that refunds requiring Provincial Government’s verification must be given on an interim basis subject to future adjustments.
He also constituted a sub-committee comprising of representatives from the Ministry of Commerce, FBR, and the SBP, to sort out such matters at an accelerated pace.
The underlying rationale is to ensure timely payments for exporters amid a cash flow crunch.
In his concluding remarks, the Finance Minister reiterated his unflinching support to the exporters and encouraged them to come up with a well-rounded proposal enabling the Government for better facilitation and timely support amid COVID-19 and in the post-COVID scenario.
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It was decided that meetings with the delegation of exporters will be held regularly to review issues faced by them. The delegation thanked the Honorable Ministers for their support to address liquidity challenges for improved cash flow position.
Federal Minister for Industries and Production, Khusro Bakhtyar, Federal Minister for National Food Security & Research, Fakhar Imam, Advisor to the PM on Commerce, Abdul Razak Dawood, SAPM on Finance and Revenue, Dr. Waqar Masood, Governor State Bank of Pakistan, Dr. Reza Baqar, Chairman FBR, Secretary Petroleum, Secretary Commerce and other senior officers participated in the meeting.
