Governor assures businessmen of taking up issues with Centre

LAHORE:The LCCI Executive Committee, led by its President Mian Nauman Kabir, called on Punjab Governor Muhammad Baligh-ur-Rehman and apprised him of the issues being faced by the business community.

The governor assured them of his full support in taking up the issues raised by the LCCI delegation with the relevant officials of the Punjab as well as the Federal government. The governor said that consistency in the economic policies was essential to resolve the prevailing economic issues.

The LCCI President apprised the governor that the commercial banks were demanding Rs10 to 15 over and above the inter-bank dollar rate for releasing the import shipment documents.

He said that in the federal budget speech, it was announced that a fixed tax regime for small retailers would be introduced whereby the fixed tax starting from Rs3,000 would be collected along with the electricity bills. However, the small retailers are being charged double the amount in the electricity bills as GST which is not refundable. The FBR has not clarified the criteria through which this GST in electricity bills has been imposed. The President LCCI requested the governor to take up this issue with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). Nauman Kabir added that the Tier-1 retailers were being integrated with FBR through Point of Sale (POS) system. The policy guidelines for POS integration are not clear. He proposed that a clear policy be devised for POS integration without causing harassment to business community.

The LCCI President said that the Wasa tariff for Lahore i.e. Rs100,000 per Cusec per month, is considerably higher as compared to other cities of Punjab like Faisalabad where the water tariff is around Rs19,320 per cusec per month for general industry and Rs13,000 for textile processing industry.

He also discussed the longstanding issue of high rate of conversion fee (20% of DC value) for land use charged by LDA for existing units and added that this was an impediment to industrialisation in the province and should be abolished. The LCCI president informed the governor that the imposition of Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess (PIDC) at the rate of 0.9% on Dry Ports in Punjab had prompted many businesses based in Lahore and other parts of Punjab to get their consignments cleared from Karachi. The collection of this Cess was merely Rs5 billion in 2021-22.

This Cess has resulted in tremendous loss of business volume at Dry Ports in Punjab, shifting of tax revenues from Dry Ports in Punjab to Karachi. The LCCI Senior Vice-President Mian Rehman Aziz Chan highlighted the urgent need for installation of water hydrants in and around the major markets of City to effectively cope with adverse fire incidents.

He requested the support of governor in this matter. LCCI Vice-President Haris Ateeq said that the policy of closing the retail outlets, including the bakeries at 9pm, which is only being implemented in Punjab, has proved to be counter-productive and needs to be reviewed immediately. It has not resulted in conservation of energy and has rather dented the sale of businesses, causing tax revenue losses for the government.