ISLAMABAD: The traders linked with IT sector have decided to take up their issues with Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and other government departments for early solution.
This was decided by Pakistan Computer Association (PCA), which is a joint platform of vendors of computer industry, traders of IT equipment, federation and chambers of commerce and industry, and Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) and Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) after a meeting.
The meeting was arranged by FPCCI Vice President Mian Akram Fareed, Founder Group Chairman Abdul Rauf, Chief Co-ordinator Sohail Husain Malik, ICCI President Muzammil Sabri and PCA Chairman Munawar Iqbal. The meeting focused at length on the issues facing the business community and the government’s apathy to listen to their demands and resolve their problems.
They lamented that the government was unmoved by the woes and sufferings of the business community due to the months-long Dharna and later by the disturbing Metro-bus project which not only distorted the peaceful environment but also destroyed the business in Islamabad.
They said that despite repeated calls through the electronic and print media their voice and concerns were totally ignored and the tax officials and the FBR instead of giving any relief to the taxpayers continues to pressurize the business community with illegal enforcement of rules and regulations. Due to this difficulty situation business of the blue area has come to a standstill and the vendors are feeling neglected and deserted by the government. They said it appears the government has adopted a policy of discrimination against the IT business community in the country.
Munawar Iqbal said that PCA is the sole nation-wide forum of the IT industry in Pakistan and is dedicated to save the businessmen from the adverse effects of discriminatory policies, rules and regulations that directly hinder the smooth running of the IT business. He said the PCA will always keep close contact not only with its stakeholders, who form the backbone of the IT business, but also with the concerned GOP departments to apprise them of the unwarranted situation due to their ill-conceived policies. He urged the government to provide a level-playing field and a business-friendly environment to the IT business community to help them contribute to the national economy.
He urged the formation of a joint platform and unified stand against all kinds of illegally enforced regulations like taxation, SROs, sales tax, documentation procedure and other controversial regulations. He urged the government to provide incentives to the IT business community and also include their proposals in the next budget 2015-2016 to make it more representative. He called upon the government to immediately withdraw the controversial ‘PTA Type’ condition for import of Computer products by small vendors and follow the laws set by the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) for ensuring a healthy business environment. He called upon the Ministry of Information Technology to formulate IT policy in consultation with the stakeholders and business forums and take them on board for the promotion of information technology.
