President Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mian Anjum Nisar has said that government should take immediate measures to check the twin menace of smuggling and under-invoicing to save the domestic industry from problems.
In the budget proposals sent to the Central Board of Revenue (CBR), he suggested that the federal government should make use of diplomatic avenues to convince the Afghan authorities to impose duties even equal to 50% of those in Pakistan to control the smuggling, under in voicing and misdeclaration.
He said that the majority of goods imported through Afghan Transit Trade return to Pakistani market posing serious challenges to our local industry. Th e other points4 the LCCI has focused on in the budgetary proposals, are related to rate of duties from raw materials produced in Pakistan, imported raw material s, semi-finished products and imported finished products.
Mian Anjum Nisar said that the import of machinery should be allowed at zero rate to encourage modernisation of the local industry while input costs also needed to be reduced to curb the smuggling.
Cost of doing business should be reduced to attract both local and foreign investment He said that the procedure of issuance of installation certificate should also be simplified as involvement of many officials cause undue delays and it creates problems.
The LCCI President also proposed the issuance of the installation certificate with only two signatures to facilitate exporters and industry.
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