All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) on Wednesday warned to shut down the industry if the government doesn’t restore electricity and gas subsidies from July 1, 2023.
“We demand regional competitive prices to boost dwindling exports. We will come with keys of factories to hand over to the Ministry of Finance,” said the APTMA representatives during the meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance on Wednesday.
They argued that electricity and gas cost 8 cents and 6.5 cents in India and 10 cents and 7.5 cents in Bangladesh, respectively, while costs are much higher in Pakistan, with a recent Rs. 20-40 increase, and the Power Ministry plans to raise electricity prices to Rs. 49.5 per unit in the coming fiscal year.
APTMA representatives stated that there are no subsidies proposed for the textile sector in the current budget and the government needs to extend last year’s subsidies to ensure the survival of the industry and for the 20 million human resources that are attached to the industry.
They argued that the country is facing de-industrialization with 50 percent of textile units already shut down and 25 percent more expected to with exports projected to decline to $26-$27 billion from $31.5 billion.
The representatives from the packaged juice industry also briefed the committee on the significant decline in sales due to the 10 percent excise duty and asked to abolish it as it has not resulted in any revenue increase for the government.
Pakistan Association of Large Steel Manufacturers also described their problems and advocated for the sales tax exemption for local steel scrap under section 13 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990. They also proposed to reduce the income tax withholding rate to 0.25 percent on scrap supplies under section 153 of the Income Tax Ordinance.
