‘Country cannot afford chaos amid prevailing economic challenges’

MULTAN: The Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry members on Monday urged the government to accept the genuine demands of protesting traders.

In a statement issued here, MCCI acting president Khawaja Badar Munir and vice-president Sheikh Muhammad Amjad said that the the country could not afford chaos, anarchy and instability in the prevailing economic challenges.

They said that no country could achieve economic goals unless the government took the business community on board and consult all other stakeholders.

They said that the government must implement the MCCI proposal of fixed taxation under A, B, C and D categories as being implemented in Islamabad.

The MCCI office-bearers mentioned that abolition of zero-rating facility had created numerous problems for the export sector so the government must review this decision.

They said that the FBR was reportedly working in collaboration with provinces to introduce a single tax portal for taxpayers to file their sales tax returns of goods and services at one platform, which was a laudable initiative as it would greatly facilitate them in filing sales tax returns and reduce the cost of doing business. The move would also contribute towards improving ease of doing business in the country, they added.

They said that under the current sales tax regime, businesses were facing difficulties in filing sales tax returns of goods and

services as they had to file returns of goods at federal and that of services at provincial level.

They said that under the current sales tax regime, filers were also facing double taxation as some provinces were taxing a service at the place of origin while the same service was also being taxed at the place of destination in another province.

Therefore, the FBR should work on this issue to minimise the chances of double taxation, they demanded.

The MCCI office-bearers stressed that the FBR should implement one national sales tax regime in the country. They said that under the single sales tax regime, one product or service would have a single tax rate in any part of the country instead of multiplicity of taxes on the same commodity or service in various parts of the country.

Govt asked to hold dialogues with traders: Members of the Markazi Anjuman-e-Tajran Pakistan have warned the government to hold dialogues with the traders’ representatives within three days otherwise options of lockdown and presenting keys of markets to the government at D Chowk are opened.

Talking to journalists on Monday, MATP chairman Khawaja Suleman Siddiqui said that one day of three days deadline had been lapsed leaving two days left. He said that the government should hold dialogues with the traders to solve their complaints.

Khawaja Suleman Siddiqui said that he had suggested three options to countrywide traders’ leadership in case the government did not hold dialogues. He said that July 13 countrywide traders strike was remarkable and historical when traders demonstrated unity. He warned if the government did not realise the gravity of problems, the traders would lockdown after three days deadline.

The traders would go on lockdown for indefinite period after three days strike, he added.

Khawaja Suleman Siddiqui said that the traders would completely boycott returns on September 30. He said that the traders would protest at Islamabad and throw keys of markets at D Chowk. He said that the traders’ leadership would devise future strategy in Lahore and Islamabad meetings.

He said that the country faced Rs 60 billion loss from one day strike and the government should realise the sensitivity of the issue.

All the traders want to pay taxes but the tax procedure was not acceptable, he added.

He underlined the need for levying fixed tax at small traders, which should exempt from the CNIC restrictions.