Commerce Ministry in constant talks with businesses

ISLAMABAD: In view of the government’s decision to proactively engage and solve the problems faced by trade and industry during the COVID-19 crisis, the Commerce Ministry was regularly interacting with the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and others.

In this regard, four meetings have already been held so far on March 31, April 1, 2, and 8, 2020. Presidents of the FPCCI, Karachi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, and Islamabad chambers, and Economic Development Board chairmen met the government in the meetings.

Two of these meetings were chaired by the advisor on commerce and investment, while two were chaired by the secretary Ministry of Commerce. During these meetings, representatives of trade and industry informed about the issues faced by the business community. The business community informed of issues related with cash flow problems. They also discussed mark up on loads and maturity of letters of credit, while also demanding early refund of sales tax, and payment of Duty Drawback and Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies (DLTL).

They asked the government to defer the payment of gas and electricity bills of industries, allowing confirmed export orders to be dispatched, allowing movement of workers of the three critical sectors ie food, pharmaceuticals and energy, and finding alternative sources for the imported food items.

They also asked the government to prepare standard operating procedures for the export-oriented industries to allow them to function and the like. Participants were assured of early resolution of their problems by taking up these issues during the meeting of National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) of the National Coordination Committee. Problems and issues faced by the business community were discussed in detail. Coordination with all the concerned ministries, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and provincial governments were being made to mitigate the difficulties faced by the businesses community in times of national emergency.