LAHORE: Progressive Group in the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) welcoming the Prime Minister’s direction for a massive crackdown on smugglers has urged the government to take effective measures to eradicate the menace which is not only depriving the national kitty from precious money in shape of duties and taxes evasion but also damaging the formal trade and traders.
In a statement issued here on Thursday, Progressive Group’s President Khalid Usman, Senior Vice President Muhammad Arshad Chaudhry and Deputy Secretary Muhammad Ejaz Tanveer said there was a strong need to inspect the proper import documents of foreign items present in the market to curb the smuggling with an iron hand.
The Progressive Group leadership said that it was raising voice time and again to take solid steps to check the smuggling as it was not only hurting the interest of law-abiding importers but also depriving the national kitty from its due share.
They also called for taking on board the real representatives of genuine importers so as to devise an effective line of action against smugglers and smuggled items. Increase in the regulatory duties on different imported items in recent past was due to the same menace as increasing smuggling of imported items was depriving the government from revenue and genuine importers from being competitive in the market, they added.
They claimed that a parallel economy had emerged because of smuggling in the country which was neither beneficial for the government nor the country. They urged all the stakeholders to join hands with the government and other institutions to curb this menace.
welcomed: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry highly appreciated the Punjab government and law enforcement agencies for accepting LCCI demand to keep markets open during PSL.
“It is a great moment for the business community as international cricket, trade & economic activities have now been associated with each other and would continue parallel”, the LCCI President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh and Vice-President Mian Zahid Jawaid Ahmad said in a statement on Thursday.
They said this decision is not only a bigger favour to the business community but also to the local and foreigner cricket fans who love shopping at adjacent markets whenever they come to enjoy the match at Gaddafi Stadium. The LCCI office-bearers said that new planning by the government and the law enforcement agencies would help to avoid a massive loss of billions of rupees daily to the trade and economic activities.
They said that revival of international cricket in Pakistan was a healthy sign and would highlight the soft image of the country while continuation of trade and economic activities would definitely add to the benefits of the government efforts aimed at making this country a land of peace.
The LCCI office-bearers said the business community would cooperate with the government to ensure all necessary security measures during these matches.