'Proposed Textile Industry Act-2011 to hit exports'

The value-added textile sector considers the draft 'Textile Industry (Development, Promotion and Standards) Act-2011' a 'Draconian law', "which is destined to hit the country's exports".
The draft 'Act', which aims to provide for the development, promotion, regulation and setting of standards for textile industry in Pakistan to achieve sustainable growth, employment generation, increased productivity and value-addition throughout the textile chain, was circulated by the Ministry of Textile Industry last week, inviting suggestions and comments from the stakeholders.
The value-added textile sector during theperiod from July 2010 to June 2011 had contributed $13 billion towards exports, in which the share of Towel Manufacturers' Association of Pakistan (TMA) stood at $1.3 billion. Feroze Alam Lari, Chairman of TMA, forwarding his comments to the Ministry, said.
"Nowadays, textile industry has no room for any sort of contribution towards any end. Hence, the clause relating to levy of 1 percent cess on textile manufacturers, dealers of textiles and textile allied industry in Pakistan should be deleted, and for expenses etc funds from Export Development Fund (EDF) should be drawn, where textile exports contribute 60 percent to the fund.
The TMA has expressed serious reservations on Chapter VI, relating to registration and information, which says: "To undertake promotional and development measures and to monitor the performance of textile industry, and utilisation of support taken under the policy, Ministry of Textile Industry shall register all textiles industrial units which shall provide data and information related to their sphere of operations on regular basis and when required by the Ministry of Textile Industry.
"The information provided under the Act shall be confidential and shall not be published in a form which may disclose the state of affairs of any particular individual, firm or institution; accessible to the inspection of any person otherwise than for the purpose of prosecution for contravention of the provisions of the Act. Further, disclose to any person, or used in evidence in any proceedings to which the person/unit furnishing the information or return is a party, except for the purpose of prosecution for contravention of the provisions of this Act".
The TMA has vehemently opposed the above measures included in the Act and described them as "harsh, which may lead to malpractices." Similarly, disclosing the state of affairs "is not acceptable as business secrets of one firm could be passed on to the other." Disclosing of any business secret to others is against business norms, the TMA said.
It has rejected the provision relating to audit of accounts and documents of textile industry and authority of Textile Commissioner to collect cess and carry out audit saying that "as there is no cess hence no audit".
On the constitution of Fund and Audit, the TMA said that cotton cess, which was revised in 2006, was also levied for the same purpose, but the in-flow and out-flow of funds were never made public. Therefore, before getting funds from any other source the old account should be published for the information of general public. Textile Industry already pays cotton cess, education cess, and textile engineering cess, the TMA added.