KARACHI: The Karachi Electronic Dealers Association (KEDA) has drawn attention of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman to the harassment of computer dealers and importers, requesting the board’s bigwig to take remedial measures.
Talking to members of a computer dealers delegation, Karachi Electronic Dealers Association (KEDA) President Muhammad Idrees, who is also Vice President of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), stated that the businessmen were already grappling with multiple problems and their harassment would only add to their problems.
On the occasion, the delegation complained that the FBR representatives had been harassing computer dealers on one pretext or the other since last few months which had created unrest among them.
Idrees regretted that on hand the government had been making tall claims to be business-friendly but on the other the businessmen were being harassed. He called for a reduction in import duty on computer and its accessories to make it affordable for the common man. On the occasion, a computer dealer pointed out that overall duties and taxes on the import of computers amounted to 27 percent including 17 percent general sales tax (GST), 3 percent value-added tax, 5.5 percent income tax and 0.85 percent Sindh Excise Duty along with miscellaneous expenses of 0.65 percent. He claimed that such high tax was not only discouraging the import of computers through legal channel but was also hampering the efforts to tap the potential of this sector.
