KARACHI: The business community has welcomed the decision of government to abolish the Export Development Surcharge imposed on export-oriented industries, terming it a step in the right direction towards support to export growth receipts, while urging the government to continue the facilitation to exporters for enhancing the competitiveness of Pakistani products in the global markets.
Sheikh Muhammad Tahseen, President of the Federal B Area Association of Trade and Industry (FBATI) has welcomed and termed as highly significant Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif’s decision to abolish the Export Development Surcharge imposed on export-oriented industries.
Tahseen said that eliminating the Export Development Surcharge will provide financial relief to exporters, enabling them to export their products at more competitive prices. He added that the funds amounting to Rs. 50 billion collected under this surcharge should be utilised transparently and in consultation with the contributors. Ideally, he said, these funds should be spent on resolving the infrastructure-related challenges faced by the export sector.
Tahseen also appreciated the announcement of forming a committee to oversee the use of the accumulated funds from the Export Development Surcharge. He recommended that renowned business leaders and export sector representatives be included in this committee. He further emphasized that the funds collected from each city’s industries should be spent proportionally on the export industries of those respective cities.
He stressed the need to use these funds for installing treatment plants to properly dispose of industrial waste, ensuring compliance with European and international environmental regulations, and supporting the training of skilled manpower. Such measures, he said, would significantly enhance production capacity and strengthen the country’s export potential, especially at a time when the economy is struggling to stabilize.
However, Central Chairman Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA) Babar Khan said that Pakistan’s government should avoid imposing taxes and duties to facilitate the export-oriented sector in future
He mentioned that EDS was an additional burden on exporters which was never utilized for export development in Pakistan, nor could be found anywhere in the world, particularly among the regional and competing countries.
The government should empower exporters while addressing their core issues of lowering the cost of production and improving the business climate through ease of doing business, he said and added.
The government must address the energy crisis and excessive taxation in the country for long-term relief to the nation. The government, along with exporters and industrialists, should chalk out a strategy to promote exports to various countries and attract local and foreign investments, he further said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
