KARACHI: To improve competitiveness of export oriented sectors, Pakistan Apparel Forum has proposed that government should simplify the export facilitation schemes instead of rationalization of tariffs on the raw materials and intermediate goods.
In response to Ministry of Commerce’s invitation of proposals for enhancing export competitiveness, Pakistan Apparel Forum proposed to simplify Duty & Tax Remission for Exporters (DTRE), Export Oriented Units (EOU), manufacturing bond, temporary importation and duty drawback for textile exporters.
“Export facilitation schemes are government’s temporary importation schemes, which allow exporters to import duty-free goods only if they re-export them. The rules of export facilitation schemes are quite complicated and have cumbersome procedures and take months to import raw materials and intermediate goods,” Jawed Bilwani of Pakistan Apparel Forum said.
Bilwani recommended that licensees (textile exporters) from Ministry of Textile should be allowed to import raw materials and intermediate goods for manufacturing of finished goods meant for export under the export facilitation schemes.
Bilwani said a system should be devised so that Ministry of Textile Industry and Customs could jointly approve the permission for import of raw materials and intermediate goods under export facilitation schemes within 48 hours and this permission should be processed on fast track, one-window basis.
“Export Facilitation Schemes’ rules need to be simplified and revisited for exporters to make them export friendly so that they can acquire / import their prime raw materials and intermediate goods easily at international prices without any bottleneck which would lead to enhance the exports to considerable level,” he added.