NA body to discuss business community's issues on February 13

National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs will discuss the reports of concerned ministries and departments regarding core issues of the business community in its meeting scheduled to be held on February 13 at Islamabad, disclosed Faiz Ullah Kamoka Chairman SA Committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs.

He was addressing a meeting of local parliamentarians and Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI). It was established on the directive of Governor Punjab Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar to settle down their differences on zero rating, energy rates, refund and turn over related issues.

Faiz Ullah Kamoka thanked the vision and farsightedness of Rana Sikandar Azam President FCCI who prudently handled the issue of strike and paved way for a negotiated solution of problems in consultation with the local parliamentarians. He said that Rana Sikandar Azam himself attended earlier meetings of NA standing committee in which he himself pleaded his case. He said that FBR had categorically clarified in it that small shopkeepers are not required to provide their CNICs. "It is only a requirement for the wholesalers to provide CNIC while purchasing goods from the manufacturers", he told and assured that similarly, the standing committee had also recommended stopping recovery of electricity arrears with retrospective effect till the approval of Economic Coordination Committee (ECC). He told that reports on remaining issues would also be discussed in next standing committee meeting and hopefully these would also be resolved up to the entire satisfaction of major stake holders.

Continuing, Faiz Ullah Kamoka said that Pakistan is a blessed country but we failed to exploit our resources. "Our exports are pegged at 23 to 24 billion dollars where as Bangladesh is earning 39 billion dollars from its textile exports", he said and added that its growth rate is also 7 percent whereas we are dwindling at 2 to 2.5 percent only. He said that being a patriotic Pakistani, we must think that if we are discharging our national obligations or not. He further said that when PTI came into power the country was at the brink of bankruptcy. We were also forced to get loans of 11000 billion but only to pay back the installments of previous loans. Government is facing severe financial crunch and Punjab ADP was restricted to Rs. 350 billion, out of which only 8 billion has been allocated for Faisalabad. He told that representatives of National and Provincial Finance Commission would also attend the next standing committee meeting and we will try to get due share for Faisalabad.

He further told that another meeting will be arranged with the JAC which would also be attended by concerned ministers and government officials to settle the demands of the business community. He was critical of taxation system and said that direct taxes are only 10 percent while the volume of indirect taxes is 90 percent which is further widening gap between have and have-nots. He said that we must streamline FBR to redress the fundamental and core issues.