ISLAMABAD
The Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA) and the Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PRGMEA) have jointly urged the government to consider and implement the textile industry’s key budget proposals through the FBR’s Budget Anomaly Committee.
The demand came during a post-budget joint meeting of both associations, which was attended by PHMA Chairman Abdul Hameed, PHMA former chairmen Naseer Butt and Shehzad Azam Khan, PRGMEA Chairman Dr. Ayyazuddin, and PRGMEA former chairmen Ijaz Khokhar and Sohail Afzal Sheikh. It was clarified that these are proposals from the textile export sector currently being submitted to the committee for review.
The participants stressed that the government must not only examine these industry recommendations through the Anomaly Committee process but also implement the committee’s final report once compiled.
While addressing the meeting, PHMA Chairman Abdul Hameed pointed out that Pakistan’s value-added textile, apparel, bedwear, home textile, and towel sectors contribute over $11 billion in annual exports and provide livelihoods to millions.
He expressed concern over the replacement of the simplified Final Tax Regime (FTR) with the more complex Normal Tax Regime (NTR), which now subjects exporters to both a 1% minimum tax and a 1% advance tax on export proceeds—regardless of actual profit.
PHMA former chairman Naseer Butt, while speaking at the meeting, said that this dual taxation is counterproductive for an already distressed export sector. He warned that many SMEs are operating on thin margins and may be forced to close down if this policy is not reversed immediately
