LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) has urged the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to stop issuing undue notices to the businessmen as it is affecting the business atmosphere in the country besides denting the reputation of business friendly government.
While addressing a huge delegation of different city markets informed the LCCI Senior Vice President Amjad Ali Jawa and Vice President Muhammad Nasir Hameed Khan said that the repeated issuance of notices is not only hitting businesses hard but also damaging government’s drive to expand tax net.
Members of the delegation comprising former LCCI Senior Vice President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, Chairman All Pakistan Paper Merchants Association Khawaja Abbas, Bao Bashir, Khamis Saeed Butt, Zahid Maqsood Butt, Waqar Ahmed Mian, Muhammad Faisal, Muhammad Ajmal, Qayyum Raza, Sajjad Haider, Hasan Raza, Fiaz Qadri and Abid Rasheed said that such anti-business measures of the tax department are hampering the growth of business activities.
The LCCI office-bearers said that all the leading economies are giving incentives to expedite economic activities in their respective countries but in Pakistan the people who are sitting at the helm of affairs are doing the otherwise at this point in time when almost all the businesses were facing a number of internal and external pressures.
They said that the manufacturing sector is already passing through very critical time due to various internal and external challenges and in dire need of handholding by the government to run their businesses.
Amjad Ali Jawa and Nasir Hameed Khan said that the private sector is ready to supplement all the government efforts aimed at revival of economic activities in the country if they are provided breathing space but in the presence of such anti business tactics, it would be very difficult for the private sector to continue with their businesses.
They said that acts like raids on industrial units and shops would hamper the economic activities. They said that the Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar should take notice of the whole situation and stop the FBR officials from entering into the business premises. They said that if there is an urgent need to take action against any particular industrial unit, the FBR officials should be directed to take concerned association or the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry on board.
They said that trade & industry is the engine of growth and country cannot move ahead without resolving its major issues. He said that all possible measures should be taken in the federal budget to unravel the problems which are hampering the trade & economic activities.
