Ghee mill owners threaten to shut factories across country

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA) has threatened to shut ghee factories across the country to protest against the tax exemption given to FATA and PATA industries by the federal government, ARY News reported on Thursday.

A crisis of cooking oil and ghee is likely to hit the country as the ghee mill owners have threatened to close factories for the acceptance of demands.

The association has expressed its concerns in a letter sent to Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin.

Former PVMA chairman Sheikh Amjad Rasheed said that it is impossible to run the ghee mills after the provision of tax exemption to FATA and PATA industries by the federal government.

Ex-President PVMA Sheikh Umar Rehan claimed that the new budget became a disaster for the ghee and oil industry instead of a relief.

He added that there are more than 122 ghee mills in the country and the ghee owners will not accept the decision for awarding unnecessary concessions to big investors in the name of relief to the people of FATA and PATA.

Rehan claimed that the decision will cause a financial loss worth Rs160 million by the imports of edible oil, whereas, the tax exemption to FATA and PATA industries will result in the closure of local industries and unemployment of millions of labourers.

He announced that the ghee mill owners will move to the court besides taking every legal measure against the decision.