LAHORE: Sections 38-B and 40-B of Sales Tax Act, 1990 are being harmfully misused by the officials of tax department therefore these should be withdrawn to ensure business friendly atmosphere in the country.
These views were expressed by the LCCI Vice President Faheem-ur-Rehman Saigal while addressing a meeting of Commercial Importers, Departmental and Brand Stores here at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry. LCCI Acting President Khawaja Shahzad Nasir, former Senior Vice President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, Muhammad Aqif, Raja Javed Riaz, Syed Anwar ul Haq, Jalal Khan, Javed Iqbal Siddiqui and others also spoke on the occasion.
The participants were of the view that misuse of powers by the tax officials is highly unacceptable as it is nothing else but to harass the business community. They said that raids at business premises & markets and harassment measures by the staff of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) are not only adding to the miseries of the business community but are also promoting trust deficit between the government and the business community therefore Prime Minister Imran Khan and Federal Finance Minister Asad Umer should take notice of the situation.
The LCCI Vice President Faheem-ur-Rehman Saigal said that section 38-B and 40-B are grinding the business community and if these powers are not withdrawn, bureaucracy would cause huge damage, not only to the business activities but to the government’s reputation as well.
He said that foreign investors will not ready to invest in Pakistan until the government facilitates the business community for smooth running of businesses. He said that authorities are just busy to meet their targets.
Faheem-ur-Rehman Saigal said that government should evolve a policy and strategy in collaboration with the store owners for retail tax rates.
Participants of the meeting demanded that misuse of powers under sections 38-B and 40-B should be stopped immediately as these tactics are not acceptable. They said that universal/flat rates of sales tax should be implemented to get rid of input and output invoices.
They said that tarnishing the image of businessmen on media should not be allowed to any department. They said that prior notice should be served and businessmen should be given time to streamline their business matters, instead of conducting undue raids.
