Apparel exporters warn that a 0.9% infrastructure levy would raise costs, slow cargo and erode competitiveness at precisely the wrong moment.
Punjab’s plan to impose a 0.9% Infrastructure Development Cess has alarmed Pakistan’s value-added apparel exporters, who argue that the measure would act less like infrastructure policy than like an export tax by another name. The Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA) North Zone has formally urged Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to reconsider, saying the levy would increase costs on goods entering or leaving the province and add fresh friction to an already strained industry.
What the industry fears
Exporters say they are already contending with high energy tariffs, expensive raw materials and heavy taxation. In such conditions, another provincial levy would compress margins further. That matters because apparel exporters sell into fiercely competitive global markets where prices are largely set by buyers, not by Pakistani manufacturers. PHMA also warns that enforcement at provincial entry and exit points could delay shipments and complicate cargo movement.
Why it matters
Pakistan’s apparel sector depends on speed as much as cost. Any checkpoint-based cess risks turning logistics into a bottleneck, undermining reliability with overseas buyers. Other textile bodies, including APTMA, have already opposed the broader Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess proposal on similar grounds.
What should happen next
If Pakistan wants export-led growth, provincial policy should lower transaction costs, not raise them. The government can still backtrack. If it does not, exporters will read the message clearly: growth is welcome, but only after another fee at the gate.
