LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Industries and Trade Mian Muhammad Aslam Iqbal has suspended audit notices issued by the Social Security Department due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
He announced this in a meeting with a delegation of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) headed by its Central Chairman Adil Bashir.
Mian Muhammad Aslam assured the APTMA delegation of all out support by the provincial government to ensure that all industrial units function smoothly for an increase in exports, adding that APTMA member mills must ensure compliance of all prescribed SOPs to fight effectively against the second wave of the coronavirus.
Iqbal further said that the government has pinned high hopes on the export-oriented sector for an increase in exports, creation of jobs and new investment in the country.
He urged the industry to step forward and start planning the set up of industrial units to contribute towards the country’s industrialisation and accelerate the pace of economic development.
Responding to the APTMA’s demand for a waiver of provincial excise duty on electricity bills to keep the exports free of domestic duties and taxes, he asked the association to send him a working paper on the issue for consideration by the provincial government.
He nominated Additional Secretary Department of Industries Asif Farrukh as focal person for resolving day to day issues of the textile sector.
The APTMA chairman thanked the Mian Aslam as well as the provincial and federal governments for their initiatives in resolving the issues faced by industrialists and hoped that the textile sector would promote further investment in the textile sector with the government’s support.
