To get rid of the piled up cotton stocks of last year, the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has announced a 10 percent advance tax exemption to woo buyers. The TCP’s move follows the Economic Co-ordination Committee’s (ECC) nod to retail the whole stockpiles on prices that Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) determines on a daily basis in a bid to offload the stored commodity without further delays and losses.

Buyers were earlier not keen to buy cotton stocks though TCP tried to offload the same due to 10 per cent advance tax on the procurement of cotton through tendering/auction process, which buyers had to pay. After continuous poor response in the tenders issued for the sale of cotton, the decision to retail sale of cotton on daily basis was taken at minimum KCA sport rate through commission agents. The TCP has also been asked to hire the services of commission agents through an open tender process as per the PPRA Rules.

As per the industry sources over the last three months, the TCP held around nine tenders for the sale of 95,400 cotton bales but was able to sell 10,800 cotton bales in two tenders, while remaining all were scrapped on technical grounds as the bidders/ buyers were not willing to pay 10 per cent advance tax on procurement of cotton through tendering/ auction process.

www.tcp.gov.pk