Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) on Monday expressed concerns over falling exports of the country which have dwindled by 14.40 per cent during the first half of the current financial year and called upon the government to take urgent remedial measures to arrest this dangerous trend which has the potential to create balance of payments crisis and increase current account deficit.
ICCI President Atif Ikram Sheikh, Senior Vice President Sheikh Pervez Ahmed and Vice President Sheikh Abdul Waheed told media personnel that during July to December of this financial year, Pakistan’s exports had declined to $10.322 billion from $12.058 billion during the corresponding period of 2014-15 showing a decline of 14.40 per cent which should be a cause of concern for the policymakers.
They said that exports of Bangladesh exceeded $16 billion during first half of the current fiscal year showing an increase of about 8 per cent while Pakistan’s exports were on the decline despite the fact that the country had had GSP Plus status from the European Union since January 1, 2014.
They said that after the grant of GSP Plus status, businessmen were expecting a significant boost in exports as it had enabled the country to export textile goods to 27 European countries without duties till 2017, but unfortunately Pakistan had almost failed to fully exploit this concession due to various reasons including bottlenecks in policy, implementation, priorities and lack of desired support to export-oriented sector.
They said that tax refund claims of billions of rupees were still lying pending due to which the export sector was facing liquidity problems. They said that according to FBR rules, payment of sales tax refund claims would be paid within seven days of the date of Refund Payment Order (RPO) and stressed that the government should ensure full implementation of this rule to clear tax refunds within the stipulated time.
They said that the government should reconsider imposition of duty on import of raw materials, take measures to bring down cost of inputs by reviving zero rating for exports and release refunds to exporters because without taking these steps, there are dim chances of turning around the falling exports and paving way for export-led growth of the country.
