The Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has formally presented its budget proposals to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance.
The FPCCI’s proposals were presented to the National Assembly’s panel by UBG Secretary General Zubair Tufail and FPCCI Vice President Zafar Bakhtawari in a meeting chaired by MNA Qaiser Ahmed Shaikh.
Jahangir Tareen and Asad Umar of PTI, Syed Naveed Qamar and Dr Nafisa Shah of PPP, Mian Abdul Mannan, Fayyaz Sheikh, Ms Shazia Fatima, and Syed Mustafa Mahmood of PML-N, FBR Chairman Nisar Muhammad Khan and other top officials were also present in the meeting.
While briefing the legislators, Zubair Tufail said that all export sectors should be declared zero-rated from July, import duty and sales tax should be waived on import of plants and machinery, and new industries established up to 2020 should be declared tax-free.
The FPCCI’s comprehensive proposals will trigger growth, create jobs and increase revenue. He said it had become very important to expand the tax base to reduce pressure on existing taxpayers, he added. Zubair Tufail also demanded steps to curb smuggling, under invoicing and mis-declaration which had become a threat to the economy.
All the key proposals were discussed in the meeting and all members of the standing committee recommended to the FBR chairman to accept the FPCCI proposals for upcoming budget for strengthening economic activities in Pakistan.
At the occasion, the FBR chairman said that the FPCCI’s proposals were encouraging and he assured that dialogue would continue with chambers and associations and their justified demands would be accommodated in the budget to ensure rapid economic growth. It may be mentioned that few days back the FPCCI had also presented budget proposals to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. Gulzar Firoze and Nasim Shafi of PTA were also present in the meeting.