LAHORE: Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has invited attention of the government towards high gas tariff and called for shelving any such plans that are bound to ruin the industrial activities.
In a statement issued here Saturday, the LCCI President Sheikh Muhammad Arshad said that at the moment when industrial sector is coping with the challenge of energy deficit, increase in gas tariff is a sheer injustice.
He said that dream of economic growth cannot come true without ensuring availability of cheap energy to the manufacturing sector therefore; government should withdraw recent hefty increase in gas tariff immediately. Sheikh Muhammad Arshad said that despite repeated appeals of the LCCI, government made repeated increases in the gas tariff and once again posing for that.
“Trade & Industry is already in deep trouble because of delay in refund claims, high cost of doing business and withholding tax while increase in the gas tariff would add their miseries”, Sheikh Muhammad Arshad said.
LCCI President said that increase in gas tariff would jack-up the cost of doing business manifold and oust the export-oriented industries from the international export market where Pakistani products already facing hard competition. He said that such anti-business acts would hamper the growth of manufacturing sector.
He said that the proposed raise in the gas tariff would create multiple problems for the industrialists as they have to bear heavy loss while fulfilling their export commitments.He said that the government machinery always vow to take the private sector on board but they do not bother to consult LCCI or any other sector-specific association while making the decisions like hike in gas or electricity tariff.
The LCCI President said that the impact of reported increase would be much bigger than the expectation of the government who should avoid any such decision keeping in view the economic scenario in the country. He said that at a time when all the governments in the world were facilitating their respective private sectors, the situation in Pakistan is the other way round and various government departments were tightening noose around the private sector.
He said that even the slightest raise in the cost of production, at this critical juncture, would, therefore, spell doom and oust Pakistani merchandise from the international export market which would deprive the exchequer of much-needed valuable foreign exchange to the tune of billions of dollars.
