MULTAN,April 2nd: Chairman of All Pakistan Bedsheet & Upholstry Manufacturers Association (APBUMA)Syed Muhammad Ahsan shah has urged upon the Government for the revival of zero rating regime for export oriented industry because SMEs and other export oriented industry was facing liquidity crunch due to delay in payment of refund claims. In a statement he said that current situation due to pandemic "Coronavirus" had broken the back of industrialists in general and SMEs in Particular.Government should announce a bailout package for them besides suspension of recovery of electricity, Gas and other utility bill for the minimum period of three months and this amount should be recover in 12 easy instalments. Syed Ahsan Shah said that Government must make at least 70 percent refunds on stock because export of Pakistani goods is not possible during worldwide lockdown. He stressed the need for increasing the credit limit for six month to ease liquidity crunch. He further said that Government should suspend the recover of contribution of EOBI and Social Security from employers for a year and wages of temporary or daily wages workers be provided to employers forthwith so that they could pay them wages instead of layoff.He said that Ministries of commerce and finance were aware of that international buyers are going to cancel their orders and they had suspended all the consignments .Under these prevailing situation,survival of smaller exporters, SMEs and industrialists was not possible if Government did not adhere its responsibilities in the larger national interest.
