SIALKOT: The Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) on Tuesday urged the government to announce a relief package for exporters and ensure early clearance of refunds.

The manufacturing and export sectors were ignored in budget 2020-21, even though the industry was suffering a financial crisis and now a pandemic, a press release issued by the chamber said.

SCCI Senior Vice President Khurram Azeem Khan said the Covid-19 pandemic had triggered recession and the value-added export sector is affected severely.

“The export industry was expecting some relief from government in this budget to overcome their financial problems. However, no such support or relief was announced for the export sector in this budget,” he said.

“Huge liquidity of the exporters had been stuck in the outstanding Income Tax, Sales Tax, DLTL and Customs refunds rendering it difficult for the businesses to cope with the situation. No timeline has been announced for payment of pending refunds which is a matter of grave concern for the business community,” he added.

The SCCI urged the government to revive zero-rating on five export -oriented sectors, stressing that it is essential for saving the industry and to promote ease of doing business in prevailing economic crisis.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2020