SIALKOT: Model Customs Collectorate Sialkot Collector Qurban Ali Khan has assured the Sialkot based surgical instruments manufacturers and exporters about the early clearance of their prolonged pending rebate claims cases worth Rs 800 million in the first month of the fiscal year 2014-15.
He said that all out efforts would be made to flourish the surgical industry of Sialkot by taking the surgical manufacturers and exporters into confidence.
He said this while addressing an important meeting of surgical instruments manufacturers and exporters held at Surgical Instruments Manufacturers Association of Pakistan (SIMAP) here. Chairman SIMAP Bilal Ameen Chughtai, Secretary General Muhammad Amjad and senior customs officials were also present on the occasion.
Collector also stressed the need for making some effective and positive joint efforts to bridge the communication gap between the customs departments and surgical exporters, saying that this step was also vital to remove the hurdles from the way to promote the surgical exports from Sialkot and resolve their problems amicably.
He pledged to work on this task to bridge this communicational gap on priority. He said that the Sialkot made world class surgical instruments were in great demand around the globe, but the surgical instruments manufacturers and exporters should also focus on non-traditional items.
Earlier, addressing the meeting Chairman SIMAP Bilal Ameen Chughtai demanded increase in the rebate, saying that more than a century old surgical industry of Sialkot was facing advanced technology related problems due to which the persisting rebate ratio of 4.86 per cent was nothing more than the peanuts.