LAHORE, April 10: The finance division has asked businessmen to approach the central bank to get an extension in the last date for availing of its write-off of irrecoverable loans and advances scheme given in the SBP circular No: 29 in October last year.

The finance division officials are said to have told a two-member business delegation on Wednesday that the write-off scheme was introduced by the State Bank of Pakistan and only it could extend the last date for availing of the scheme.

The delegation comprised the Committee for Rehabilitation of Sick Units chairman Mian Usman and Punjab Aptma senior vice- chairman Adil Mahmood. Both are also members of the central bank’s committee constituted last month to settle any dispute that may crop up between the banks/DFIs and their borrowers on the settlement of the loans/advances under the central bank’s scheme.

The businessmen have consistently been demanding an extension in the last date for availing of the scheme. They insist that they had not been given enough time to study the scheme and apply because the central bank had taken nearly five months to clarify its circular issued on Oct 15 last year. “It was only after the clarification of the circular that several businessmen had decided to apply for write-off of their loans and advances,” they say.

The central bank’s clarification had amended the earlier circular to include the borrowers of the restructured and rescheduled loans and advances to allow them to get their debts settled if they have defaulted on their fresh payment schedule.

The businessmen have also been calling for enhancing the repayment period of settled amount to five years from the current three years. They also want the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to direct leasing companies and modarabas to adopt the central bank guidelines and allow their borrowers to avail the scheme.

In addition, they are calling upon the banks to provide working capital to the projects whose loans/advances are written off by them under the scheme.