ISLAMABAD: To support legal import of apples and vegetables that include onions and tomatoes, the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce and Textile suggested an early appointment of quarantine officers for Taftan Border Crossing in a meeting presided over by Committee Chairman Senator Mirza Muhammad Afridi.
Appointing quarantine officers would streamline the process of import through proper taxation and ensure timely clearance of imported and exported material, said Senator Kauda Babar.
The committee was informed that the Quarantine Act has been mandatory and hence, a new draft will be brought to the cabinet soon to pave way for the legal import and will issue permits for import.
The committee was informed of the problems faced by local manufacturers, spinners, weavers, traders and exporters with regard to input tax, GST mechanism for local turnover tax, ID card payment issues and the additional 10% tax imposed on traders as well as status of refunds under new system and problems in submission of annexure-H by Member Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Hamid Ateeq.
Furthermore, it was informed that to resolve these issues, the revenue body holds a meeting every Monday with all five sectors of the textile industry. 561 refund claims from five sectors were received till October 21, and 287 were processed and cleared last week.
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