RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN — Pakistani restarted operations on July 14, a day after the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) called off its strike following the government’s promise to address their concerns, the Express Tribune reported.
The Flour Dealers Association also resumed flour supply, putting an end to black market sales and reducing flour prices, it said.
The government said it would withdraw the withholding tax within 10 days. PFMA said if the tax is not abolished by July 22, the mills will go on indefinite strike until the tax withdrawal is official.
Representatives of the flour mills said that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is shifting the responsibility of revenue collection onto flour mills after its own failure in tax collection. The FBR has imposed a 5.5% withholding tax that will increase the price of flour by eight rupees (10 cents) per kilogram.
Wheat processing in more than 1,500 Pakistani flour mills was halted, and flour shipments were stopped from July 11-14.
