The Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters held an interactive session in collaboration with the Model Customs Collectorate to facilitate the exporters to enhance value-added textile exports, contributing to the country’s economic uplift.
Several PRGMEA members participated in the interactive session. Customs Collector Ms. Azmat Tahira along with her team including Ms. Farah Farooq, Deputy Collector Customs Ms. Syeda Sidra, ADC Additional Deputy Collector Customs, briefed the exporters about various issues including Rebate Calculations, Pending DTRE Cases, Bonded Warehouse Soft Clearance, Vender Registration for EFS, HS Code Approval, Maintenance of Customs Record in Duplicate both in manual and electronic and Access of different Analysis Certificate etc.
PRGMEA Central Chairman Mubashar Naseer Butt, addressing the meeting, said that enhancing exports is the only way for Pakistan to achieve sustainable growth, as Pakistan’s balance of payment sustainability depends on innovation and diversity in the structure of the economy. He said that we all need to penetrate exports, as it is the only way for Pakistan’s sustainable growth.
Mubashar Butt said that to bring this fundamental shift, there is a need to remove anti-export bias, with the industry to anchor itself on competitive principles in support of the government, he added.
PRGMA North chairman Ahmed Hanif, addressing the meeting, said the country needs to diversify its export market as more than 50 percent of its exports rely only on four markets, i.e., USA, EU, China, and Afghanistan; he said and added that the government should help the industry make a difference in diversifying the market.
Ahmed Hanif thanked the Customs officials for taking their precious time introducing the new systems and answering members’ queries. He also said that to increase our exports, both public and private sectors must join hands and hold such discussions regularly for the benefit of exporters. He emphasized the development of such systems, with the use of technology, to increase the efficiency of the exporters and bring down the cost and time of doing business. For this, he stressed the need for studying the system already developed by our regional competitors such as Bangladesh, China, India, and Sri Lanka.
On this occasion, the Customs Collector, Azmat Tahira, assured the PRGMEA members that they would remove the glitches in all kinds of Customs facilitation schemes to make their business friendly and improve foreign exchange inflows in the country.
Addressing the leading exporters of the garment sector, she said the FBR believed in maximum facilitation to exporters, enabling them to enhance exports to ultimately benefit the country to earn foreign exchange.
She apprised that the Customs had continuously worked to improve and develop the taxation system through reforms and automation. He apprised that the FBR constantly worked to improve and develop the taxation system through reforms and automation. Automation had been enhanced in this connection, and public dealing had become limited, particularly for the exporters.
Azmat Tahira appreciated that PRGMEA, saying the Customs believed in facilitating the exporters to contribute to the country’s economic prosperity, as the government and the PRGMEA were working closer like hands in gloves to facilitate the taxpayers and exporters.
She gave a detailed presentation on the Customs facilitation schemes, highlighting the accomplishments made by the department so far. She also pointed out that the department had set up help desks to facilitate exporters.
