KARACHI, Oct 11: The Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (Prgmea) has urged the ministry of commerce to extend the research and development (R&D) subsidy to promote garment exports to Turkey and other non-traditional markets.

The Prgmea South Zone chairman Atiq A Kochra said in a statement on Tuesday that Turkey was the only quota country which was not included in the R&D support scheme. He suggested that the time limit for filing R&D support claims should be extended from 30 days to 60 days because the upcountry exporters could not meet the deadline.

He further said that an amnesty scheme should be announced for the acceptance of all time-barred claims.

The Prgmea chairman also expressed concern over the delay in payment of R&D subsidy mainly due to the objections raised by the State Bank of Pakistan and the issuance of Annexure III Form by the customs.

He suggested that the schedule banks should be given the responsibility to process and verify the claims and forward the same to the State Bank for payment.