FAISALABAD, June 19: The All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA) has said that quite a few basic necessities have been ignored in the budget for 2002-03, upon which rests the future well-being of agricultural and industrial sectors.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, APTPMA chairman Bashir Mahmood and G.R. Arshad, chairman action committee of the association, said that the federal budget was a realistic and balanced budget, nevertheless, there was enough room for improvement therein.

They claimed that despite heavy burden of foreign and domestic debts and the 9/11 situation coupled with the mammoth concentration of Indian troops across the border, first time in the history of Pakistan such a balanced budget has been prepared.

This, they said, is a healthy augur, provided the unhealthy traditions of mid-term “mini-budgets” and “SRO culture” are not allowed to creep in. With certain amount of satisfaction, that a number of positive corrective measures have been envisaged in the federal minister’s speech of budget, for example re-organization of Central Board of Revenue, broadening of the Self-Assessment Scheme of Income Tax, curtailment of unlimited powers of tax officials, rationalization of the previous mode of depositing advance income tax in case of appeal, special relief package for salaried persons, pensioners and senior citizens, bank reforms, reduction of import duty on more than 2,000 items of basic raw-materials, rationalization of duty drawback structure and prompt payment of duty drawback through commercialized banks, relief in bonus and mutual fund shares, development of Gwadar free port, promulgation of the new Income Tax Ordinance, labour reforms and special awards for leading exporters would go a long way towards ameliorating and energizing the corporate and private industrial sectors.

Furthermore, they said, the rate of GST on the pattern of value-added tax ought to be reduced from 14 to 10 per cent and its purview be broad based. Elaborating, they proposed that GST may be imposed on all the stages of textile industry at reduced rates in order to complete the “chain” of documentation while such rate should be bearable and pragmatic.

Yet another important aspect of the economy, they said, which has been ignored in the budget was that of national savings. If the rate of profit on national savings schemes was enhanced to a reasonable extent, it would certainly encourage small-scale industrial investment.