LAHORE – The Flour Mills Association on Thursday announced nationwide strike against the withholding tax.
The Flour Mills Association said that 1500 mill owners are on strike, with flour dealers nationwide also joining the protest.
Flour Mills Association Chairman Asim Raza said that they would not collect the withholding tax as it would increase the price of flour by Rs200 per sack.
Following announcement of strike by the All Pakistan Flour Mills Association, 73 flour mills in Gujranwala district were closed down completely, and in Multan, more than 60 mills were also shut as a protest against the withholding tax. The reports suggested that all 100 mills in the division’s four districts were also closed down.
The spokesperson of the Flour Mills Association said that in Faisalabad, the closure of flour mills halted the supply of 200,000 daily wheat sacks, and in Kamalia city, all 10 mills and 4 mills in Khushab district were closed down.
Besides, in Peshawar, mills are also closed on appeal of the Flour Mills Association, and locks were placed on mills in Quetta due to the strike called by the Pakistan Flour Mills Association, which halted wheat grinding operations.
Chairman of the Flour Mills Association (South Zone) Aamir Abdullah said that flour mills stopped wheat supply in Sindh, saying that collecting taxes is the job of the FBR, and they should not be made tax agents. He added that wheat product supply would be stopped until their demands were accepted.
It may be mentioned here that a few days ago, the flour mill owners had announced the strike during a press talk, saying that they attempted negotiations and presented their demands to the government that tax collection is not their responsibility.
