Export-oriented sectors: FPCCI chief wants gas, power tariffs be fixed on yearly basis

President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) Mian Anjum Nisar has said tariff on electricity and gas should be fixed on yearly basis for the export-oriented sectors, and priority be given only to these sectors as the export sectors have to make commitments to their buyers six months in advance and frequent increases in electricity and gas tariffs jeopardizes their entire planning.

Speaking at a meeting at PHMA House with Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, Chairman of Pakistan Apparel Forum, and others, the FPCCI president emphasized on implementing power tariff of 7.5 cents/kwh, including all charges, across Pakistan and RLNG at 6.5 dollars/MMBTU.

The FPCCI chief also said that while notification of said tariffs had been issued the time period inadvertently was missing; it should be for three-year period as agreed. He further said that OGRA has separated zero-rated industry from general industry for gas tariff while Nepra was not implementing decisions of separate treatment for zero-rated and general industries.

Mian Anjum Nisar urged the government to honor its commitment with the export sector and added that the exporters were in a real fix and under stress because the government was not implementing the decision it had taken to support the export-oriented sector.

The Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance had promised that refunds would not get stuck whereby he and his team made a commitment that after the passing of the budget, his team would hold meetings with the exporters and devise an automated system like the ones prevailing in Bangladesh and China.

Through the automated system, exporters would get a major amount from a bank or the State Bank and would not be dependent on the FBR. The Adviser on Finance promised that if the new refund system did not work, the government would revisit its decision in three to six months. Since more than eight months had passed, and the FBR FASTER system had failed for speedy refunds, therefore, the government should honour its commitment and restore zero-rating, no-payment-no-refund regime for the export sector.

Mian Anjum Nisar said that the exporters feared that their precious liquidity taken away by the government in the shape of sales tax amounting to billions of rupees stood completely stuck, and refunds might be excessively delayed because the FBR had failed to achieve its revenue collection target.