All the Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) urged the government to restore the zero tariff system in the textile industry because it failed to fulfil its promise to pay a quick refund.

President APTMA expressed his appreciation to the State Bank of Pakistan for raising the export loan quota by 100 billion rupees at a news conference held at APTMA's home. These measures will certainly help promote the country's exports.

However, he said that the timely payment of the refund requirement remains a major problem and needs to be addressed first. He added: "exporters are disappointed with the performance of the federal tax office's new automatic sales tax (FASTER) system, because FBR's immediate release of the exporter's request for a refund request has not yet been fulfilled."

Although FBR promised to pay business tax rebate within 72 hours after filing a claim, billions of rupees' exporters are still in trouble because of a refund of business tax. Owing to the delay in refund, exporters are facing financial difficulties and unable to procure raw materials for manufacturing export products.

"In this case, the best option is to support export oriented industries, restore the zero tax system, and impose sales tax on local sales. If the government fails to restore the zero tax system, exporters will not be able to pay business tax designed to ensure payment to their workers in time. "