Strengthening manufacturing base key to achieving 7% growth rate, says Haroon Akhtar

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Revenue/Federal Minister Senator Haroon Akhtar Khan has said the government is aware of the need to strengthen and enhance the manufacturing base which holds the key to achieving 7 per cent growth in the coming years.

"If we have to grow at 7 per cent, we will have to enhance our manufacturing base," he said while talking to a delegation of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) which met the Minister and top officials in FBR to share with them a set of proposals and recommendations for boosting the export oriented textile industry.

The Minister assured the delegation that the government was keen to pay outstanding Sales Tax refunds and modalities were being worked out for their payment by the end of May. "The PM is very keen on that as he believes the money should be where it belongs," he said.

Haroon Akhtar Khan lauded the contribution of the textile sector in helping the government achieve the target of nearly doubling the country's tax revenues since 2013 and also appreciated the industry for playing its part in arresting and reversing the decline in exports. "There was about 15 % increase in exports in the month of February whereas the overall growth has been around 11 to 12 per cent during this fiscal year which speaks about the effectiveness of government's packages and other facilitative measures announced for this sector," he added.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Association of Builders and Developers of Pakistan also met Senator Haroon Akhtar Khan and management of FBR to discuss their outstanding issues and the proposals and recommendations for resolving them. The Minister assured them their genuine issues would be resolved and their budget proposals would also be closely examined and considered in the upcoming Federal budget.