Business community divided over strike against FBR powers

KARACHI: The business community is split over the July 19 strike against the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) enhanced powers under the Finance Act 2025.

While the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has postponed the protest following talks with the government, the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has vowed to go ahead with the strike.

According to an FPCCI statement, President Atif Ikram Sheikh announced the decision to postpone the strike following what he described as successful talks with government representatives.

However, KCCI President Javed Bilwani said that the chamber, backed by various industrial and traders’ associations, would proceed with the strike due to the government’s failure to provide written assurances regarding the resolution of key concerns under the Finance Act 2025. These include the FBR’s powers of arrest under Section 37A and restrictions on cash payments exceeding Rs200,000.

Speaking at a press conference following a meeting with the government’s special committee, chaired by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Haroon Akhtar Khan, Bilwani acknowledged that while most of the business community’s demands had been verbally accepted, the absence of a formal written guarantee had prompted the decision to go ahead with the strike.

“We are observing a one-day strike tomorrow,” he said. “If we do not receive written confirmation by the next meeting, the strike will escalate -- first to one day a week, then two, and possibly for weeks.”