PM urged to make mandatory printing of QR-Code on plastic bags

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Polypropylene Woven Sack Manufacturers Association (PPWSMA) has requested Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to make QR-Code printing on plastic bags to ensure their recycling.

In a letter to the prime minister, Iskander M Khan, association chairman, has drawn the prime minister’s attention towards the efforts of the association for the documentation of economy through printing of QR-Code on polypropylene bags to increase the GoP revenue, since January 22, 2020.

He stated that in addition to the revenue, the Indian government has added another dimension to save the environment via printing of QR-Code on all plastic bags to ensure the recycling of plastic waste.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, Pakistan has the highest rate of plastic waste as only three per cent of the plastic waste is recycled.

The threat posed by single-use plastics is significant; they choke drains and litter landscape across the country, because the authorities over the years’ have failed to curtail the production and sale of single-use plastic products.

In the light of existing scenario, the printing of QR-Codes on all plastic bags, will ensure their recycling, creating a clean and green environment.

The association has proposed that plastic shopping and industrial bags should be produced under a license issued by the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority and Track and Trace System of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to ensure the printing of QR-Code, containing the name of the manufacturer, grammage, denier and microns under the Plastic Waste Management.

The association proposed that polythene bags should have minimum of 120 microns with a minimum of 600 denier, whereas, non-woven polypropylene shoppers to have a minimum of 60 gsm.

“The proposed specifications will ensure the economic viability for recycling of plastic bags that will reduce30 per cent import of plastic raw materials, amounting to around $300 to 350 million per annum because of the re-use of recycled plastic waste under the circular economy,” Iskander Khan said, requesting for the implementation of measures and practices adopted world over to save the environment from the menace of plastic pollution and documentation of economy.

In another letter to State Minister for Finance Ali Pervaiz Malik, he said the association pays billions of rupees in taxes annually, besides meeting demand of the local consumers to save huge foreign exchange, but unfortunately, this industry has been put at sheer disadvantage by imposing undue withholding tax on it in the last budget.

Iskander M Khan added that anomaly-based withholding tax regime has helped local commercial importers to cause huge tax evasion through flying invoices which is ultimately hurting to the local polypropylene industry.

The PPWSMA chief has proposed to the government to put an end to anomaly in withholding tax to save the polypropylene industry from further disadvantage against commercial importers.

He also highlighted cumbersome exemption certificates issuing process and demanded a hassle-free tax exemption certificates issuing process.