LAHORE – Input Output Co-Efficient Organization (IOCO) should set a criteria for the companies for quota allocation of raw material for LED lighting industry.
The demand was raised during a meeting at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry on Thursday. Director General IOCO Ahmad Rauf, LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah, Executive Committee members and members of LED Lights Manufacturers Association spoke on the occasion.
The stakeholders were of the view that not only criteria should be set but documentation in this regard should also be reduced and process should be made easy.
Ahmad Rauf said that now raw material for LED lighting industry manufacturing is being allocated on annual basis. IOCO would soon open another office in Islamabad to facilitate the business community, he said, adding, that IOCO cannot fix the criteria for some particular companies. For this purpose, the desired companies would have to contact Pakistan Standard & Quality Control Authority and Engineering Development Board to get a certain criteria.
He assured his full cooperation to resolve the issues being faced by the business community.
Mian Tariq Misbah said that officials of IOCO need to be made aware of different dynamics of various business lines while implementing the given rules. When they deal with different cases with the same approach, some of the businesses get adversely affected.
He said that there are some sectors which should be excluded from IOCO. For instance, the raw materials imported by pharmaceutical industry cannot be sold in open market even then pharmaceutical companies have to deal with IOCO. He said that the rules and regulations exercised by officials of IOCO often create hurdles for the industry and the manufacturing units have to wait for clearance of imported raw materials.
He said that another example can be given about LED lighting sector as the quota of materials is issued on shipment arrival basis. Mostly the quantity of quota is inadequate and manufacturers have to clear shipments on payment of commercial duty and taxes.
He said that this year IOCO office issued quota on quarterly basis determined on last year consumption. Now the manufacturers have to submit consumption of materials after every two month. The reconciliation process takes too much time and the manufacturers bear not only losses of production but also pay demurrages on the port.
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