Haroon for strengthening manufacturing sector to achieve 7pc growth rate

ISLAMABAD, March 30 (APP):Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Revenue and Federal Minister Senator Haroon Akhtar Khan said Friday the government was cognizant of the need to strengthen and enhance 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 Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
The APTMA team shared 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 this payment by the end of May.
“The Prime Minister is very keen on that as he believes the money should be where it belongs
to,” he said.
Haroon lauded the contribution of the textile sector in helping the government achieve the target, nearly doubling the country’s tax revenues since 2013.
He also appreciated the industry for playing its part in arresting and reversing the decline in exports.
“There was about 15 per cent increase in exports in the month of February whereas the overall growth had 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
Haroon 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.