Reformed GST: government and business community on war path

The business community is on the war path with the government as the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has rejected the proposed Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST), saying it is a recipe for destroying businesses and trade in Pakistan and it cannot afford to allow the government to proceed to make this anti-people and anti-businesses bill a law.
Sultan Chawla, FPCCI President told a general body meeting of FPCCI held on Saturday to review the fallout of the proposed RGST on the industry, businesses and the people of Pakistan that the levy was not acceptable to business community of Pakistan and through this general body, FPCCI demands of the government to give up its plan to make it a law before it''s too late to take corrective measures. He said the business community and industrialists of this country outrightly reject the RGST, as it was a plan meant to destroy businesses and trade in Pakistan and ultimately cause irreparable loss to national economy.
Talking to Business Recorder after the meeting, Chawla said the business community of Pakistan and FPCCI as its apex body will oppose the proposed RGST with full force. He said the general body of FPCCI is of the view that RGST was being imposed to create unprecedented price hike at home to add to the burden of people besides making Pakistani products uncompetitive in global market. He deplored that the government was not taking FPCCI into confidence on any key issue relating to the trade and businesses.
Chawla said that the business community like many other relating issues has not been taken into confidence on RGST imposition and this general body demands withdrawal of the bill immediately. Bring this bill back to the business community for its input and then after having a consensus the bill could be presented to the parliament for approval, Chawla added. The general body meeting was also addressed by former presidents of PFCCI Tariq Saeed, Iftikhar Ali Malik and S M Munir. These speakers fully supported Chawla''s view on the proposed RGST. They demanded of the government to take its decision of presenting RGST in the parliament back and save the country from another visible crisis. The FPCCI general body also passed a resolution demanding of the government to stop exercise forthwith to make RGST a law.