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Sindh chamber calls 45pc agri tax illegal, blames IMF for policy

Sindh chamber calls 45pc agri tax illegal, blames IMF for policy

Web Desk
Jul 23, 2025

HYDERABAD: The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) has announced its decision to challenge the newly imposed 45 per cent agricultural income tax in court, calling it “unconstitutional, illegal and unethical.” The chamber has also called upon farmers across the province to boycott wheat cultivation in protest, warning of wider civil disobedience if the tax is not withdrawn.

The decision was taken during a meeting of the SCA held on Tuesday under the chairmanship of its patron-in-chief, Dr Syed Nadeem Qamar. The meeting strongly rejected the tax, claiming it had been enforced on the instructions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) without considering the dire conditions faced by local farmers.

Farmers present at the meeting argued that they are already struggling to recover production costs due to low market prices for their crops, and imposition of such a steep tax would push them further into hardship. They declared a complete boycott of the agricultural income tax and demanded exemptions similar to those extended to industrialists.

The chamber warned the government that if it initiated arrests over non-payment of the tax, thousands of farmers would voluntarily court arrest in protest. “We are ready to go to jail, but we will not accept this tax,” several farmer leaders said at the meeting.

The SCA also urged growers to skip wheat cultivation in the upcoming 2025–26 season, citing inadequate support prices. Instead, farmers were advised to shift to alternative crops such as mustard, kalonji (nigella), sunflower and other oilseeds, which they believe could be more sustainable. They lamented that current wheat prices are so low that even the basic cost of production cannot be recovered.

Alarm over sharp decline in cotton yield

During the meeting, the chamber also raised serious concern over what it described as a “catastrophic” 40 per cent drop in cotton production this year, projecting the total yield may not exceed four million bales. It noted that farmers are receiving just Rs6,500 per maund for cotton, far below the Rs11,000 per maund promised by the provincial agriculture minister.

The chamber demanded the removal of the 18 per cent local tax on cotton and proposed a 25 per cent tax on imported cotton to encourage domestic production. It also criticised the rising cost of key agricultural inputs, pointing out that diesel prices have gone up by Rs22 per litre and DAP fertiliser has increased by Rs600 per bag in just 15 days.

“These rising input costs, coupled with low crop prices, are devastating for growers,” the chamber said, warning that the situation could lead to the collapse of the province’s agricultural economy.

The SCA called for the immediate reversal of recent hikes in the prices of diesel, fertilisers, seeds and pesticides, saying that unless relief is provided, farmers will be unable to continue cultivation.

Push for farmer support schemes

Farmers were urged to register for the Benazir Hari Card through their local mukhtiarkars and administrative officers. The chamber also demanded that the Rs10,000 per acre subsidy currently available for sunflower and canola crops be extended to mustard and rapeseed as well.