MULTAN, June 16: Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association has demanded an increase in lint cotton official price in accordance with the rise in minimum fix price of phutti (seed cotton).

PCGA acting Chairman Abdul Rasheed Khan on Sunday welcome the official cotton policy for 2002-03 announced recently by federal commerce minister Razzaq Daud.

He said the government had taken a grower-friendly step by increasing phutti price from Rs780 to 800 per 40kg.

He hoped the growers would be able to bring more and more area under cotton cultivation.

He also hoped the government would take care of the ginners’ interest by announcing a rational price of lint cotton keeping in view increase in ginning expenses and phutti price.

The textile millers and Trading Corporation of Pakistan should also act wisely to play a positive role in the national economy in the coming season by entering the cotton market in time.

Ginners, millers and TCP should sit together to envisage a marketing policy for the coming season, he proposed. condemned: Pakistan Petroleum Dealers’ Association, Multan, has condemned the proposed taxation by the local city tehsil administration, terming it ‘black taxation.’

A meeting of the association was held here on Sunday with Muhammad Jameel Qureshi in the chair to deliberate upon the taxation proposals of the city administration.

The meeting termed the proposals ‘unlawful’ and injurious to the business activity.

They claimed the margin of profit for petroleum dealers was already meagre, that was, three per cent in Pakistan while the dealers had to pay taxes under 11 heads of official revenue collection.

The participants said the dealers deposited billions of rupees with the exchequer as advance tax every year which was 40 per cent of the national savings. Besides, they paid Rs5,000 to the provincial government as excise duty on the sale of petrol and diesel every year, they claimed.

The association said it would not accept double taxation and in case they were subject to harsh taxation then only the government would be responsible for the consequences.