Senate panel to take up chemicals & dyes sector issues, Mandviwalla assures PCDMA

According to Business Recorder, Senate Finance and Revenue Committee chairman Saleem Mandviwalla has promised that the chemicals and dyes trade's concerns on taxation, imports, the Export Facilitation Scheme (EFS) and e-invoicing will be raised in Parliament, with relevant government departments summoned to find solutions. He made the pledge at the annual dinner of the Pakistan Chemicals & Dyes Merchants Association (PCDMA), where he urged business bodies to stay engaged with lawmakers and officials all year rather than mainly around the budget.

Mandviwalla noted that trade bodies often raise demands just before or while the budget is framed, when proposals are nearly final. He said the committee would again table PCDMA's issues, including EFS and the extra three per cent sales tax, and would call in the FBR and the Finance Ministry. He also noted that budget choices must weigh fiscal goals and IMF obligations, so relief for one sector can sometimes add to the load on another.

Earlier, PCDMA chairman Salim Valimuhammad urged swift steps to curb EFS misuse and remove tax disparities, noting the sector feeds textile, leather and pharmaceutical exporters. He said EFS imports jumped more than 70 per cent without matching export growth, and proposed tying them to actual remittances or letters of credit, a 40 per cent cap and yearly audits based on three years of consumption and export data. He also called for scrapping the additional sales tax and quick resolution of e-invoicing issues.