All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association(APTPMA) has urged the premier and the federal finance minister to look into alleged harassment of processing mills owners by the Federal Board of Revenue under the sections 38-A and 40-B of Sales Tax Act. He said the sizing industry owners were staging a strike against the ruthless attitude of revenue officials over the past few days. 'This strike is trickling down to power looms and manufacturing of the greig cloth in the country," he added.
The association leadership has feared a huge loss of the textile industry despite enjoying the general system of preferences plus facility from the European Union. "The cost of doing-business is already on the higher end in the country. The present harsh attitude of the revenue officials is adding fuel to the fire," they said. Association Vice Chairman Khawja Shahzad Nasir said other sectors of the industry including ginning, weaving, bleaching, printing and stitching were also in the doldrums because of the ongoing strike.