PM Imran urged to remove GST on EPZ…..The Financial Daily 10/02/2022

KARACHI: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises
(UNISAME) has invited the kind attention of Prime Minister Imran Khan to the
imposition of General Sales Tax (GST) on Export Processing Zone (EPZ) and
urged him to withdraw the notification and relieve the SME units of blockage of
funds, says a Press release.
President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver said the SMEs and upper medium entrepreneurs in the zone are badly affected by the imposition as their funds will get blocked.
Secondly he said he fails to see the wisdom behind the
imposition as there is no benefit to the government as the GST is refundable on the
export of goods.
Thirdly he said the refunds are refunded after a very long time that too not without obliging the refund agents and the refund department keeps pointing out objections and delays the issue of refunds unless speed money is paid to the agents for getting the refund speedily.
Apparently it seems that some units in the EPZ were indulging in malpractices and
to stop them this has been imposed.
In this connection it would have been more appropriate to have strong and strict monitoring of their activities rather than the government violating the 30 year agreement and damaging it’s own repute of good policy making and good governance.

Posted in: Press Releases