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CTA hails CBR clarification on duty drawback on towels' export

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The Council of Textile Associations (CTA) has welcomed the CBR's clarification regarding acceptance of duty drawback claims on the export of terry towels even if these are of stock/job lot quality.

CTA Convenor S.M.A. Rizvi said in a statement that as a result of misinterpretation of a circular of CBR, the Export Collectorate had been denying duty drawbacks on small consignments of towel, bed linen and other textile made-ups by arbitrariliy declaring them of stocklot qualities.

He said that the CBR in its circular No. 3 of March 26, 1994 had instructed that no duty drawback would be paid on 'sheet pieces' or in fact wastes which were not sold as fabrics and qualfied these rags and wastes as stocklot quality. The processing officers and Customs examiners were harassing the exporters for the last six years by declaring normal consignments as stocklots intentionally for ulterior motives.

Rizvi pointed out that this issue was taken up with the CBR by several associations and inspite of recommendations of the Fiscal and Facilities Committee of EPB and Ministry of Commerce no action was taken. However, this issue was again taken up this week through the newly appointed Secretary of Commerce by the Towel Manufacturers Association (TMA) ) who got it resolved within five days. He thanked Mirza Qamar Baig for his personal interest in the matter.

He said that the incident should serve as an eye-opener for the senior officers of CBR that if they really wish to resolve an issue it could be solved in no time provided they look into the matter personally otherwise even six years would not be enough to redress a genuine grievance.