Abdul Razak Dawood says more than Rs21bn DLTL refunds released for textile, non-textile sectors

ISLAMABAD: The commerce ministry has released the Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies (DLTL) refunds of Rs20.5 billion and Rs0.828 billion for the textile and non-textile sectors, the prime minister's adviser on commerce, textiles, industries, and investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, said Friday.

"I am pleased to announce that DLTL refunds of Rs. 20.5 billion for Textiles& Rs. 0.828 billion for non Textile sector have been released by the Ministry of Commerce," he said on Twitter, adding that he hoped the business community would "use this liquidity to look after their workers during these challenging times".

According to a commerce ministry press release, it was decided that officials would regularly interact their counterparts at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) and other similar chambers to proactively engage and resolve problems during the coronavirus crisis.

Four meetings in this regard have already been held — on March 31 and April 1, 2, and 8. Two were chaired by Dawood while the other two by Commerce Secretary Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera.

The Engineering Development Board (EDB) chairperson and the FPCCI president, as well as those from Karachi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, and Islamabad chambers of commerce, were engaged with the commerce ministry in this regard.

A day prior, the adviser had said on Twitter that the ministry was "close to finalizing the support programme for our businesses", terming it required support.

"We shall not let any stakeholder down," he had added.

—Additional input from APP