KARACHI, June 14: The All-Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) has urged the government to exempt the textile industry from the levy of 10 per cent withholding tax (WHT) on electricity bills amount exceeding Rs20,000 per month announced in the federal budget 2008-09.

In a statement issued here on Saturday, Aptma Chairman Iqbal Ebrahim said that textile industry being export-oriented, had been suffering losses on account of strident rise in the input costs, which has already slowed down pace of industrial growth. Consequently textile export in quantity terms for the financial year up to April 2008 has already declined by 20 per cent across the value chain.

He said that textile industry which is already facing shortage of cotton crop, high mark up charges, increased labour rates and energy prices, had already been out-placed by its competitors in the international market.

Textile industry which represents 60 per cent of the country’s exports and 40 per cent of the employment in the manufacturing sector is not in a position to further bear the brunt of this load, he added.

He said textile industry has recently suffered a great deal due to unprecedented electricity load-shedding along with more than 22 per cent tariff hike.

Mr Ebrahim noted that the proposed levy, although adjustable later, would adversely impact the operations of the textile units across the value chain due to their depressed liquidity and working capital resources.

—APP