Tax relief for Pakistan exporters
However, they did not find any incentive for exporters in the budget announced by Finance minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday. Chairman of the Pakistan Leather Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PLGMEA), Fawad Ijaz Khan, also welcomed the lifting of the rawhide and skins sales tax, saying it would give leather garment exports a boost. At the same time, he welcomed the reduction in the sales tax that applies to the import of leather chemicals.
Fawad Ijaz described the elimination of the withholding tax that applies to the import of machinery and abolition of the requirement for an installation certificate from the plant owners as ‘a revolutionary step’ and one that would go a long way towards helping export-oriented industries.
Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz presented the federal budget 2004-05 (July-June) in the National Assembly on Saturday, envisaging a total outlay of Rs903 billion proposed to be met with receipts of Rs622 billion and showing a gap of about Rs280 billion to be filled by borrowing. The overall budgetary deficit was kept within the target of 4 per cent of GDP. He proposed that the sales tax on ginned cotton, hides and skins and raw wool be zero-rated.
