LAHORE: The President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Kashif Anwar on Saturday called for unity to deal with the grave economic issues being faced by the business community.
“We need to join hands to resolve the issues that are bound to burst the economic activities,” LCCI President Kashif Anwar said while addressing the delegation of Kasur Chamber of Commerce and Industry, led by its President Kashif Khokhar.
LCCI former Vice President Zeshan Khalil, EC members Khadam Hussain, Raja Hassan Akhter, Mian Atiq ur Rehman, Senior Vice President of Kasur Chamber Haji Muhammad Akram and Vice President Junaid Khokhar were also present.
LCCI President Kashif Anwar called for a re-evaluation of policies, stating that traders are willing to pay taxes but are discouraged by the complexity of the policies. He stressed the need for business-friendly policies to expand the tax base.
During the meeting, Anwar outlined recent sales tax law changes, including restrictions on cash transactions for manufacturers and mandatory POS registration for those retailers who would conduct official purchase of over Rs4 million. Besides this, the manufacturing units have been included in the withholding. He said that these measures would hinder the growth of businesses.
He said that the digitization without adequate documentation would increased challenges for traders. He also cited the devaluation of the rupee, rising inflation, issues with LCs, and governmental regulations as major obstacles facing the business community.
Kashif Anwar congratulated the Kasur Chamber on its formation and highlighted LCCI’s open-door policy and its 40,000-strong membership. He shed light on the LCCI’s initiatives, including weekly tax clinics and extensive work in women’s empowerment, exemplified by Pakistan’s first Women’s Award.
Announcing the creation of a Lahore-Kasur Liaison Committee, Anwar emphasized the importance of joint efforts to address business community issues. He said that there should also be a liaison between Kasur Chamber and those institutions whom with LCCI have inked MoUs. He also underscored the need for collaborative input in skill training programmes.
Kasur Chamber President Kashif Khokhar highlighting the significance of cooperation between Lahore and Kasur chambers. He pointed out the challenges faced by Kasur’s cottage industry due to high electricity costs and invited LCCI leaders to visit the Kasur Chamber to further strengthen ties and support local businesses.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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