Daily Times

LAHORE: Various chambers of commerce and industry on Wednesday decided to present joint budget proposals to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for the Financial Year 2016-17.

The decision was made at a meeting on ‘Budget Proposals 2016-17’ called by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

LCCI President Sheikh Muhammad Arshad presided over the meeting, which was attended by LCCI Senior Vice President Almas Hyder, Vice President Nasir Saeed, Executive VP Kamal Mahmood Amjad and representatives of different chambers including DG Khan, Okara, Vehari, Sargodha, Rawalpindi, Quetta and Gujrat.

Objective of the meeting was to ensure maximum role of business community in trade & industry related policymaking. All the chambers, through a joint communiqué, pledged to make joint efforts for elimination of harmful taxation, harmonisation in federal and provincial tax regimes, withdrawal of import duty on raw materials, removal of prevailing anomalies in the statute, simplification of tax adjudication process, timely completion of the Chona Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project and ensuring availability of uninterrupted and cheaper energy.

The participants said that the government should invest as much as possible in the energy sector, lower the ratio of indirect taxes, bring down taxes and duties on smuggling-prone items and ensure timely completion of CPEC to achieve the key economic targets.

They said that keeping in view the growing energy demand, a major portion of the upcoming federal budget for the year 2016-17 should be allocated for generation of cheap electricity through hydel means, adding that maximum funds should also be allocated for construction of large dams, tapping of natural resources to keep the industrial wheel moving.

The participants said reliance on expensive thermal units is not only one of the biggest reasons of energy crisis in recent past but has also been jacking up the cost of production.

They lauded the efforts of the government and security forces for establishment of peace in the country, saying that in past, law and order situation had hurt Pakistan’s potential as a highly attractive investment destination. Though situation is far better than the past, still a lot work has to
be done.

They said that menace of smuggling, which is causing loss of billions of dollars to the national economy, has become a big threat for economic growth and any sector has hardly left untouched by this menace. Smuggled goods through the borders of Afghanistan, Iran, China and India form a chunk of informal economy, which ranges between 50 to 60% of the formal economy.

It is costing the national exchequer in billions. Markets across the country are flooded with smuggled goods and local industries are struggling for survival, as smuggled goods are not only easily available everywhere but are also attracting the buyers who prefer foreign merchandise.