Resolution of genuine issues: PM asks finance minister to coordinate with APBUMA

FAISALABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin to coordinate with All Pakistan Bed sheets and Upholstery Manufacturers Association (APBUMA) and submit recommendations to resolve their genuine issues within a period of one week.

He was chairing a meeting on SEZs Facilitation Model and Regulatory Guillotine for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

It was attended by Energy Minister Hammad Azhar, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Industries Minister Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Law Minister Dr. Farogh Naseem, Planning Minister Asad Umar, Advisor on Commerce Abdul Razzak Dawood, SAPM on Political Communication Dr. Shehbaz Gill, SAPM on CPEC Affairs Khalid Mansoor, Chairman BoI Azfar Ahsan, Governor State Bank Dr Reza Baqir, Chairman FBR Dr Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed in addition to Engineer Bilal Jamil ex-SVC APBUMA and Shahzad Ahmad.

Arif Ehsan Malik Chairman APBUMA specifically dwelt at length on the issues pertaining to the SMEs sector. He thanked the Honorable Prime Minister for providing an opportunity to him to highlight the concerns of the SME sector at this prestigious platform.

After a brief introduction of SME and APBUMA, the chairman stated that DDT (Drawback of Duties and Taxes) scheme under the textile policy is very critical to the competitiveness of the SMEs sector. He said growth of the SME sector was shrinking and the current increase in textile exports is largely contributed by the LSM. He clarified that the SMEs production flow is segmented in various stages where it has to pay Sales Tax at various levels like purchase of yarn, weaving, processing etc. “On the other hand in LSM all the production processes are completed under one facility”, he said and added that due to this reason a large chunk of working capital of SMEs remains stuck with the FBR kitty. He suggested that there must be some mechanism to resolve liquidity issues through commercial banks against sales tax refund claims on a monthly basis.

Arif Ehsan Malik further said that for viable financial support of SMEs and promotion of financial inclusion; the turnover limit for SMEs must be revised from Rs. 800 million to Rs. 1.5 billion. “The current limit was fixed when the USD rate was 50-60 rupees”, he said and added that now it is near the Rs. 180 mark so the definition of SMEs must jacked up proportionate to the appreciation of the dollar. He also suggested that the loan mark-up rate available for export oriented SMEs without collateral must be revised downward from 9% to 3%.

He highlighted that the proposed SME policy drafted by the MoIP is more general in nature but Export Oriented SMEs need specialized treatment to compete in the global markets and play their role in enhancing national exports. He requested the PM to direct MoIP to provide policy cover to Textile/Export Oriented SMEs.

Engineer Bilal Jamil Ex-SVC APBUMA said that unlike large scale industry, the SME sector’s representation is not available at major boards of the industrial zones or policy formulation platforms. He said that APBUMA is one of the major stakeholder of textile sector SMEs and must be given due representation in policy making forums.

The Prime Minister was convinced with the impressive presentation of Arif and directed the relevant ministries to give their immediate comments on the issues raised by APBUMA.

Khusro Bakhtiar said that MoIP is in the process of revamping the SMEDA board and he would try to give representation to APBUMA in this board.

Sahaukat Tarin, Federal Minister of Finance said that most of the points are relevant to his ministry and he would coordinate with APBUMA for further deliberation on the proposals.

The chairman APBUMA also had separate meetings with Hammad Azhar Minister for Energy, Khusro Bakhtiar Minister for Industries and Productions, Shaukat Tarin Federal Minister of Finance and Dr. Shahbaz Gill SAPM on Political Communication.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022