ISLAMABAD: The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has urged the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to withdraw the implementation of video analytics at the spinning stage and instead install the system at the ginning stage to effectively curb undocumented cotton movement.
In a letter addressed to FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial, APTMA Chairman Kamran Arshad referred to earlier correspondence and meetings on the issue. He reiterated that the purpose of the Sales Tax General Order (STGO), as outlined in its text, is to monitor the movement of undocumented cotton bales and control ‘golmaal’.
APTMA maintained that the problem of ‘golmaal’ originates at the ginning stage of the textile value chain, not at the spinning stage. The association argued that the production-consumption gap highlighted by the FBR stems from discrepancies in cotton production figures reported by the Crop Reporting Service (CRS) and the Pakistan Cotton Ginners’ Association (PCGA), clearly pointing to leakages at the ginning stage.
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According to CRS estimates, Punjab’s provisional cotton production for the 2025–26 season stands at 3.81 million bales, while PCGA reports that only 2.45 million bales arrived at ginneries— indicating a discrepancy of approximately 1.35 million bales in Punjab alone.
“This gross difference establishes that ‘golmaal’ is generated at the ginning stage and not at the spinning stage, as spinners only process documented bales. These reports provide sufficient evidence to initiate video analytics enforcement from the ginning stage,” said Kamran Arshad.
APTMA further stated that implementing video analytics at an intermediary stage, such as spinning, would be ineffective and could lead to an increase in ‘gol’ trade in the unorganised sector. The association emphasised that the only viable solution to curb undocumented cotton is mandatory monitoring and the introduction of a national cotton traceability system at the ginning stage, as repeatedly proposed to the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR), and the FBR.
The association argued that there is no justification for installing surveillance equipment at spinning mills under the pretext of controlling undocumented cotton. Spinning units procure cotton bales from ginneries, which are the first point of handling raw cotton from farms. Therefore, compliance measures must be focused at the ginning stage— the point of first entry into the formal supply chain.
In view of the foregoing, APTMA requested that the existing STGO be withdrawn and replaced with a fresh procedure emphasizing traceability and compliance at the ginning level to ensure sectoral transparency and fiscal integrity.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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