Throughout a workshop organized by the Palestinian Farmers Union under the patronage of the Prime Minister Dr. Fayyad

Ramallah-Tens of farmers, livestock breeders and representative from concerned ministries, governmental and nongovernmental organizations discussed yesterday on the mechanisms and procedures for recovering the value added tax for the benefit of livestock breeders.
Attendants’ comments and recommendations requested the application of the law specified in the recovery of the value added tax which was declared by the Ministry of Finance and to explain the mechanisms of tax recovery and rapid action with regard to different sectors and categories of livestock breeders.
Attendants, who came from various regions of the West Bank called during the workshop organized by the Palestinian Farmers Union in coordination with the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee and the ministries of Agriculture and finance in Rockey Hotel under the patronage of the Prime Minister Dr. Salam Fayyad, to take effective actions and procedures to prevent the smugglings of livestock productions such as chicken and others from the Israeli markets and to prevent from entering the Palestinian territories for the variety of social and economic damages it cause and affecting various relevant groups and to protect livestock breeders sector and to support in view of its role in the Palestinian agricultural sector.
Habash Statement:
At the beginning of the workshop Mahmoud Hussein, Vice Minister assistant on behalf of the Minister Mahmoud Habash stressed that the agricultural sector is the backbone of the Palestinian economy and the focus of rural development through its contribution to the gross domestic product, employment and foreign trade. Hussein also said that agriculture is considered the main source of food and he pointed that the proportion of livestock production contribution in the agricultural sector in 2006 is estimated at 43% as the number of cattle reached 30 thousands while the number of sheep and goats reached a million head in addition to 45 millions of poultry and 65 thousands beehives.
The Ministry of Finance:
On his turn, Ahmed Helo the General Director of Customs, Excise and the value-added tax in the Ministry of Finance said that the goal of his department is to implement the government policies and to promote active partnerships with the private sector, he added that the ministry through its offices spread nationwide work to facilitate the work of the private sector, especially with the agricultural sector. He pointed out that since The establishment of the Palestinian Authority, the ministry applied the law through subjecting it to value-added tax rate of zero, through which we managed to return 2.5 million shekels annually for the agricultural sector.