MULTAN, Jan 11th: The Central Executive Committee (CEC) of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association(PCGA) has rejected the withdrawal of four percent customs duty and 5 % sales tax on the import of cotton from India and other countries and threatened to use the option of knocking the door of the court of law. The meeting of CEC was presided over by Haji Muhammad Akram its chairman.The CEC declared the decision of Economic Coordination Committee (ECC)regarding the permission to import of tax-free cotton as pro-Indian step which was taken for the prosperity of Indian farmers and destruction of Pakistani grower as well as agriculture sector.It called it a well-thought conspiracy of handful elements against Pakistani economy but PCGA would foil their nefarious designs and it would protect the interest of millions of farmers and 1200 ginners. They reiterated their demand for continuation of tax & duty for the survival of agriculture sector otherwise Pakistan would not be able to stand on its own feet. CEC meeting was attended by Salman Maqbool,Dawood Kareem, Kashif Rasul Khan,Muhammad Saleem , Iftikhar Ali Javed ,Marghoob Ali Butt, Ch.Muhammad Saleem, Mudassar Hussain, Mian Naveed Ayyaz, Ashiq Ali Babar Rehmani Khawaja Farooq Ahmed,Rao Sadaruddin, Ata-ur-rehman Khan, Khawaja Riaz Hussain Siddiqui,Malik Aqueel-ur-rehman Bhutta, Ch.Muhammad Khalid Bashir, Sheikh Ashfaq Ahmed, Malik Nazar Hussain,Malik Tufail Ahmed, Khalid Pervez Khan, Ch.Waheed Arshad, Ch.Waheed Akhtar, Ch.Sharif Ahmed, Rana Muhammad Jamil, Khawaja Atiq-ur-rehman,Muhammad Javed ,Tariq Iqbal Kharal,Sheikh Muhammad Dawood, ,Khalid Hanif Lodhi,Shehzad Ali Khan, Malik Talat Suhail, Amanullah Qureshi,Sheikh Muhammad Saeed, Haji Hafeez Anwar (Former Chairmen),Mian Javed Tariq Vice Chairman,Ghulam Mustafa Khandwa,Malik Ghulam Shabbir, Liaquat Ali Khan Dreshak,Malik Asif Hussain Bhutta,,Sheikh Aasim Saeed and Faisal Shah.CEC was unaninous that Pro-APTMA policies of present Government at the cost of agriculture sector were not acceptable to ginners as well as growers and urged upon the Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi not to notify the recommendations of Economic Coordination Committee. CEC decried on sending unlawful notices to ginners to harass them and to disturb the peaceful trade atmosphere in the country.while tax-refunds were not being paid to ginning industry causing monetary crunch. They complained that ginning sector was being treated step-motherly and it was being pushed toward a blind alley.Haji Muhammad Akram Chairman of PCGA said that Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar admitted that our economy had suffered a loss of Rs.500 billion due to less production of cotton which had shattered our economy. At that time when more than 1.3 million bales were lying in ginning factories and similar quantity is expected to ginneries before ebnding the season,Government should not allow the import of cotton. He said that growers and ginners heaved a sigh of relief after increasing the prices of cotton in international market to reasonable level.The cotton ginning industry has fiercely opposed duty-free import of Indian cotton, saying it will have destructive effects on Pakistan’s economy.They saw no justification for withdrawal of tax and customs duty on cotton import from India at the cost of Pakistan’s farmers, arguing fibre import via land or sea was not in the interest of national economy.If such imports continued without any curbs, he believed, they would harm cotton production in the country in the next season.
