Govt warned of drop in rice exports
Rice, maize, and sesame exporters are in distress, fulfilling past commitments but hesitant to take new orders due to fear of tax audits and recovery notices. The shift from FTR to Hybrid Tax Regime will further harm them, making them uncompetitive globally. Exports may drop to $2.5 billion from $3.88 billion in FY24 if the decision isn’t withdrawn. A delegation led by Haseeb Khan warned of a cyclical impact on farmers, who are expecting a bumper crop of 11 million tons of rice and 350,000 tons of sesame.
“We see distress amongst rice, maize and sesame exporters, and they are just fulfilling past commitments and are not ready to seal future orders due to apprehension of tax audits and recovery notices by the FBR.
“The shift from FTR to Hybrid Tax Regime, announced in the budget, will further damage them economically, leaving them uncompetitive in the international market, which is driven by cut-throat competition and subsidies by competing countries,” a delegation of rice exporters told the finance minister.
This discouragement will have a cyclic effect and impact the farmers due to a bumper rice crop of 11 million tonnes plus a sesame crop of 350,000 tonnes, said the exporters led by Haseeb Khan.
They feared that the FBR audits might open avenues of corruption and harassment for exporters doing business at record-high markup rates and electricity costs.
They warned that exports might drop to $2.5 billion in the current fiscal year from $3.88bn in FY24 if the government does not withdraw the tax regime change decision.
Source Link : https://www.dawn.com/news/1845304/govt-warned-of-drop-in-rice-exports
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