KATI raises concerns over soaring imports of printing materials, books & copies.

KARACHI -- President of the KorangiAssociation of Trade and Industry(KATI), Faraz-ur-Rehman, hasexpressed deep concerns regarding thesignificant foreign exchange expendi ture on the import of printing materi als, books, and copies. In a recentstatement, he emphasized the alarmingrate at which foreign exchange is beingdepleted and called for immediateaction to rectify the situation, says aPress release.

Rehman underscored that instead ofspending billions of dollars on import ing these goods, the nation couldpotentially earn a substantial sum. Heattributed this crisis to inadequateplanning and a lack of proper manage ment.Highlighting a critical issue, heasserted that the United Nations'Florence Agreement is being exploitedby opportunistic individuals and localindustries, which are obtaining dutyexemptions for importing book print ing paper from abroad.He criticized the misuse of the agree ment, emphasizing that its originalpurpose was to promote the profes sional use of books in modern sciencesrather than facilitating the unrestrictedsale of imported books in the commer cial trade market. Such practices, heargued, not only undermine the agree ment but also amount to tax evasion,ultimately resulting in the loss of theagreement's intended benefits.

President KATI urged the govern ment, particularly customs officials, totake immediate...