SCCI asks govt to formulate business-friendly policies

PESHAWAR: The Executive Committee (EC) of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) through a unanimous the resolution has asked the government to give relief to the business community of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The executive body meeting was chaired by SCCI President Maqsood Anwar Pervaiz here on Saturday.

Shahid Hussain, Senior Vice President, Abdul Jalil Jan, Vice President of SCCI, former president, Zahidullah Shinwari, Faiz Muhammad Faizi, SMEDA General Manager Outreach Javed Khattak, member of the executive committee Muhammad Naeem Butt, Saad Khan Zahid, Junaid Altaf, Sherbaz Bilour, Muhammad Shafiq Afridi, Nisarullah Khan, Muhammad Altaf Baig, Shamsur Rahim, Ihsanullah, Aftab Iqbal, Sadiq Amin, Mujeebur Rehman, Ghulam Bilal Javed, Mubarak Begum, Muhammad Sajjad, Nadeem Rauf, Abidullah Khan Yousafzai, Saddar Gul, Arshad Siddique and Fazal Wahid were present in the meeting. The unanimously endorsed resolution asked the Federal Board of Revenue, Excise and Taxation Department, KP Halal Food Authority, Cantonment Board, and federal and provincial governments to adopt business-friendly policies to ensure ease for the trader community instead of multiplying their difficulties by taking unilateral actions. The meeting voiced concern over Point of Sale system, calling it an unclear procedure. The participants said and doing business would become impossible after complete enforcement of the system. It observed that the business and trade activities have been adversely affected and were on verge of closure due to ‘anti-business’ policies of the government.

The meeting urged the government and relevant departments to take the business community and relevant stakeholders into confidence before enforcement of the policies. Those in the meeting protested the wheat flour and sugar crises in the country, besides hike in power and gas tariffs and an increase in petroleum products. Earlier, the SCCI chief informed the meeting that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been signed between this chamber and Australia Pakistan Chamber (APC) to strengthen bilateral trade relations, exchange of business delegations and benefitting from each other experiences. The meeting was told that a Business Facilitation Centre has been established at the SCCI for which focal persons from relevant federal and provincial government departments have been nominated.

The participants approved the establishment of the Business Excellence Award which is being organized every year under the SCCI.

The chamber former senior vice president, Engr Saad Khan Zahid were nominated chairman of the award committee, while a former vice-president, Haris Mufti and executive member, Junaid Altaf were named its members.

Maqsood Pervaiz said the SCCI would continue raising voice for amicable, durable and sustainable resolution of business community issues at every forum and take up problems with relevant federal and provincial governments departments concerned.

Shahid Hussain, Abdul Jalil Jan, Zahidullah Shinwari, Javed Khattak, Faiz Muhammad and others also spoke on the occasion and gave proposals for resolving the business community issues.