LCCI urges PSQCA to stop raids

LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has demanded the Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) to stop crackdown against cosmetics and food sector, as government should aim at standardisation registration, but not at a cost to business commodity, a statement said on Monday.

LCCI acting president Khawaja Khawar Rashid, Vice President Zeeshan Khalil and members of the Executive Committee said that PSQCA’s sudden and abrupt raids requiring stoppage of sales of unregistered cosmetics and food products on the pretext that superstores are involved in selling substandard cosmetics and food products of unregistered and illegal companies.

They said the GDP growth will be badly affected, besides rendering irreparable loss to the retail sector. Manufacturers are now required to pay a substantial amount of Rs11,000 as registration fee, visit and evaluation fee to PSQCA for each product, which is a very big deterrent to registering each and every product, they added.

They said action against local cosmetics and food manufacturers will also shy away all types of investors and certainly will be instrumental in adding Pakistan in their negative list.