Flour millers' strike against withholding tax enters day two

• Strike being observed in several cities over withholding tax. 
• PFMA leader demands withholding tax to be lifted from them.
• Says flour millers don't intend on troubling the masses. 

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) continued their strike against the newly imposed withholding tax for the second day as hundreds of mills across the country remained closed on Friday with wheat grinding and flour supply stopped, prompting fear of a potential shortage. 

The federal government imposed withholding tax on different stages of the supply chain of staple food by up to 5.5% in the budget for the ongoing fiscal year which has made the product more expensive, said the PFMA leaders. 

Flour mills in Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Jhelum, Kamalia, Sargodha and Toba Tek Singh have been shut down, stopping the supply of staple food in the cities.

Speaking to Geo News, PFMA Peshawar Division's Senior Vice Chairman  Shahzad Qureshi said that the strike will continue until their demands are met. 

"The crushing has been stopped due to an increase in tax on flour and wheat," said Qureshi. 

He demanded that a ban on delivery of wheat and flour from Punjab should be lifted, adding that the provincial government should abolish check posts for wheat's delivery. 

PFMA demands lifting of withholding tax

Meanwhile, PFMA Chairman Asim Raza, while speaking during a Geo News program "Geo Pakistan", said no tax have been imposed on the flour mills, however, the government has made them withholding agents. 

"We should hold and deposit the amount [in the national exchequer] that we receive from the dealers to whom we sell the commodity. Then, the wholesale dealers have been made withholding agents, when they sell it to retailers, who are non-filers, they will charge a 2.5% WTH and if they are filers, they will charge 0.5%. 

"When the payments come back to the flour mills, they will withhold 5.5%. This isn't a tax, this is an advance tax, which will be returned later on," he said. 

Raza, demanding that the withholding tax should be lifted from them, warned that this decision will increase the price of flour, eventually burdening the masses. 

"Two or three months back, a 20kg flour bag was sold for Rs2,800 and 10kg for Rs1,400. The rates are lower now, a 20kg flour bag is available at Rs1,800 and 10 10kg for Rs900. The rates will move up now. But our strike has no connection to it," he explained. 

The chairman clarified that the strike does not mean to trouble the masses nor do they want a confrontation with the government. 

"We have always maintained that the flour milling sector was exempted from being a WHT agent. They've kept the fertiliser dealers and manufacturers exempted from it still. We cannot operate like this we cannot be WHT agents," he asserted.