Daily Times

KARACHI: A better governance and economy always play a vital role in ensuring a meaningful budgetary exercise for the country.

Economists and budget experts are confident that financial managers responsible for the upcoming budget 2017-18 would invite and consider the budget proposals of industrial and trade sector of the country.

Executive representatives of all prime export-oriented industrial sector bodies urged the government to seriously ponder into the budget proposals as export and import sectors have always been a direct beneficiary or loser of the policies and measures put in the annual budget.

The current macroeconomic picture suggests bringing further improvement in economic and social sector priorities, they opined.

Almost all successive governments during process of respective annual budgets could not cope up to the aspiration and need of people in shaping and allocation of funds for the uplift of the social and economic sector development.

Ghulam Rabbani of Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association, Agha Saiddain of Pakistan Tanners Association, Jawed Bilwani of Pakistan Apparel Forum, Shakeel Ahmad of Sindh Agriculture Forum, Sanaullah Khan of All Pakistan Marble Mining Processing Industry and Exporters Association, Ibrahim Qureshi of All Pakistan Business Forum and members of Surgical Instrument Manufacturers Association of Pakistan were of the view that progress on economic growth never looks very sustainable as there always exist notable trade imbalance in country’s imports and exports.

Besides important sectors of agriculture and the conservation and optimum utilization of its resources, such as water, has never been duly addressed, they viewed.

The poor governance and regulatory frameworks remained unattended, and incumbent governments were never look serious to address these intangible indicators in respective budget measures and schemes. Despite the acquisition of Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) plus status of European Union, Pakistan was yet to cross the milestone of $30 billion worth annual export, resulting in increased trade deficit.

There is dire need for improved, somewhat reformed design of the present complicated tax system, which alongside creating deficit of trust between the taxpayers and the tax administration.

The onus of government’s inept and disruptive policies remained stand failure to pass benefits onto the business and industry. The latest instant is- on not taking timely measures by Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce and Federal Board of Revenue leather export sector at Asia Pacific leather fair in Hong Kong remained unsuccessful owing to non applicability of incentive package announced by the prime minister and induction of several missed HS Codes that were meant offering competitive prices to foreign buyers with 5 percent incentive edge on others.