KARACHI: The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) on Sunday rejected the newly enacted Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess, warning that a 0.90% levy on goods manufactured, imported or exported through the province will accelerate deindustrialization, discourage investment and cost jobs.
Gov. Punjab Sardar Saleem Haider Khan recently signed the levy into law, but APTMA said the measure imposes an unfair tax burden on Punjab-based manufacturers, who already pay the Sindh Infrastructure Cess on consignments passing through that province.
“This creates a double taxation burden that Sindh-based competitors do not face,” APTMA said in a statement.
The Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess applies at multiple stages, covering production, consumption, imports into Punjab and exports out of the province.
APTMA warned that Punjab’s manufacturing sector is already struggling with high energy costs, heavy taxation and a difficult operating environment. Adding another provincial levy, the association said, will widen the cost gap between Punjab-based industry and manufacturers in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the former FATA regions, pushing existing businesses to relocate and discouraging new investment.
For the export-oriented textile sector, the consequences are more direct. International buyers set prices based on global competition, leaving manufacturers to absorb additional levies rather than passing them to customers. That will erode margins on exports originating from or passing through Punjab, the association said.
APTMA also raised enforcement concerns, noting that the broad scope of the legislation grants cess officers powers to establish check posts and carry out physical inspections of goods in transit.
“This will create bottlenecks, delays and harassment in the movement of goods, raising transaction costs and disrupting supply chains across Punjab,” the association said, adding that such administrative burdens contradict Pakistan’s stated goals of expanding exports and reviving industrial activity.
The textile sector is among the country’s largest employers and a major source of foreign exchange, APTMA noted, warning that further erosion of competitiveness will hurt investment, output and employment.
APTMA called on the Government of Punjab to immediately recall the levy and open meaningful consultations with industry stakeholders. The association warned that failure to withdraw the tax will accelerate deindustrialization, lead to the closure of industrial units and push unemployment higher across the province.
APTMA Chairman Kamran Arshad has written directly to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, stating that the bill has triggered distress across the province’s industrial base at a moment when policy should focus on cutting production costs rather than adding new levies.
