The initial reaction of traders and industrialists, who gathered at the Federation House here on Friday, on the budget 2012-13 was a mix between outright criticism and appreciation. Some of them approached by this correspondent expressed disappointment over the lack of an incentive package for attracting overseas Pakistanis' investment others criticised allocation of insufficient funds for reviving industrial and commercial activity in the country.
Many of key trade leaders were reluctant to offer comments, saying that they could not say anything before studying details of the budget document. However, most of them agreed that Dr Hafeez Shaikh's budget speech was just a 'jugglery of figures'. Iftakhar Ali Malik, a former president of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), termed the budget speech a "lollypop for the business community and the common man alike".
He said that the domestic GDP growth rate was estimated at 4.3 percent, but the country achieved a growth rate of 3.7, while India and China's GDP growth rate was much higher than Pakistan. Iftikhar Malik said that the business community was expecting an incentive package for overseas Pakistanis, encouraging investment, but there was nothing in the budget in this regard.
Criticising the allocation of "just Rs 183 billion" for solving the ongoing electricity crisis, Malik said that the government should have allocated more funds in this regard. S M Munir, another former FPCCI president, appreciated the exemption of Federal Excise Duty (FED) on several items and said that the government should have announced agriculture tax in the budget 2012-13.
Appreciating the allocation of Rs 183 billion for resolving the energy crisis, Munir said that it was a "really a good step". FPCCI's Vice President Iqbal Pakwala criticised the government for not announcing a proper policy to overcome the energy crisis and said that it had also not devised any policy to improve the law and order situation.
M A Jabbar Memon appreciated the finance minister's budget speech and suggested that the FPCCI would officially comment after studying the complete documents of budget 2012-13. He said that subsidies announced by the government for many sectors was a good step, which would benefit people belonging to all walks of life.
"Identification of new markets, stipends for youth, FED exemptions on several items and the fixation of sales tax rate at 16 percent on all sectors and allocation of funds for resolving the energy crisis are very good steps taken by the government in the budget for 2012-13," Memon said. Begum Salma Ahmed Shah, however, expressed disappointment over the budget speech and said that it was "not up to our expectations". FPCCI's Vice-President Shaikh Shakil Ahmed Dhingra said that the federation would issue a detailed press release over the budget 2012-13 after studying the complete budget documents.
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