FAISALABAD - Salim Parekh from Karachi has been elected as chairman of the All-Pakistan Textile Processing Mills’ Association (APTPMA) for the remaining period of 2011-12, announced APTPMA Election Commissioner M Iqbal Arbi at a meeting on Monday.
The seat fell vacant after Muhammad Nisar Shekhani passed away.
The meeting was chaired by former APTPMA chief M Zubair Motiwala. A large number of office-bearers, executive committee members, senior members and general members of the association were present on the occasion.The association members expressed grief over the sad demise of former APTPMA chief Nisar Shekhani and prayed to Allah to rest the departed soul in peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss with equanimity. Fateh was offered for the Shekhani.
Salim Parekh was elected unopposed by the APTPMA executive body. Parekh is director of the Al-Abbas Fabrics (Pvt) Ltd, Karachi, and former PHMA and SITE chairman.
During the meeting, Motiwala expressed deep and serious concerns over the FBR stance to implement SRO 821(I) 2011 despite repeated demands of the business community for its withdrawal. He said the Federal Board of Revenue must avoid implementing such an anti-industry decision without due consultation of the all stakeholders. He said that SRO 821(I) 2011 would have devastating effect on business as the compulsory requirement of NTN or CNIC number of each and every purchaser or seller was almost practically impossible. The newly-elected APTPMA chief also demanded immediate withdrawal of SRO 821(I) 2011 that required importers, exporters and manufacturers to provide CNIC or NTN of all non-registered buyers with monthly Sales Tax and Federal Excise Returns.
He said that given the literacy rate in the country and lack of compliance culture in general masses, it would be very difficult to obtain such personal details from buyers or sellers of the goods. Parekh further said that the APTPMA felt that the FBR was shifting their burden of monitoring and tracking of the tax system on the business community which, according to him, was unjustified.
He said that present economic situation did not allow any type of new policy making, rather called for incentives to the industry. He urged the prime minister, finance minister and FBR chairman to listen to their genuine concerns and withdraw SRO 821(I) 2011 in larger interest of the country’s economy. He expressed serious concerns over gas loadshedding in the Punjab, saying that despite the president and prime minister’s announcement, the practice of weekly three-day gas outages continued in the province that ruined industrial production.
He strongly urged the government to ensure uninterrupted gas supply to Punjab and Sindh to avoid ruination of value-added textile processing industry.