Sindh [Pakistan] July 25 (ANI): The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) has stated its intention to contest the 45 per cent agricultural income tax in court. It has labelled the tax as 'unconstitutional, illegal and unethical,' urging its members and farmers throughout Sindh to refrain from cultivating wheat this year, as reported by Dawn.

This decision was made during a meeting of the chamber held on Tuesday, chaired by its patron-in-chief, Syed Nadeem Qamar. The attendees rejected the tax, asserting that it was enforced under the influence of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Farmers present at the meeting contended that they were not receiving fair compensation for their crops, thus questioning the validity of the tax's imposition, as reported by Dawn.

The meeting urged farmers across Sindh to refuse payment of the tax and cautioned that if the government attempted to arrest them for this defiance, many other farmers would also be willing to face arrest. 'We are prepared to endure imprisonment, but we will not pay the agricultural income tax,' declared the leaders representing farmers at the meeting. The participants announced a total boycott of the agricultural income tax and requested concessions similar to those afforded to industrialists, as noted in the Dawn report.

The SCA called on farmers to abstain from wheat cultivation for the 2025-26 season, arguing that they were not receiving sufficient support prices. The farmers committed to planting alternative crops such as mustard, nigella (kalonji), sunflower, and other oilseeds instead. They explained that due to significantly low wheat prices, they were unable to recoup production costs and that this year would be recognised as a 'boycott year' for wheat farming.

The chamber expressed serious concern over a 40% drop in cotton production, estimating that yields would not surpass four million bales. It mentioned that farmers were only receiving Rs6,500 per maund for cotton, despite the Sindh agriculture minister's promise of Rs11,000 per maund, which had not materialized.

The SCA called for the elimination of the 18% local tax on cotton and proposed a 25% tax on imported cotton to discourage imports and encourage local production. It voiced concern over escalating costs for agricultural inputs, noting a Rs 22 per litre increase in diesel and a Rs 600 per bag rise in DAP fertiliser in just the last 15 days.

It cautioned that the soaring costs of essential agricultural inputs were debilitating farmers, especially as they were not being paid fair prices for their yields. These developments, it warned, pointed to a systematic destruction of the agricultural sector. The chamber demanded an immediate retraction of the price hikes for diesel, fertilisers, seeds, pesticides, and other farming essentials, as reported by Dawn.(ANI)