The president of Tribal Area Chamber of Commerce & Industry (TACCI), Ghulam Ali has rejected the levy of 15 percent central excise duty (CED) and inclusion of general sales tax (GST) in electricity bills, saying that the decision would cripple the industrial units of the Fata and Pata, and called for immediate withdrawal.
In a press statement issued here on Wednesday, he expressed fear that the levy of CED and extension of GST on electricity to the area would push the industrial units towards closure resulting in rendering thousands of workers jobless. He said that the people of Fata/Pata would resist the decision of the government from the platform of TACCI.
Ghulam Ali said that the federal government and the NWFP governor should concentrate on industrialisation and investment in Fata/Pata to create employment opportunities for the people of the area.
He questioned that if the government is really interested in the development of the people of Fata/Pata then it should withdraw the decision of the levy of 15 percent CED and GST forthwith.
Meanwhile, members of the National Assembly from Fata/Pata, Muhammad Sadiq, Abdul Akbar Chitrali, Ghulam Sadiq and Khalil-ur-Rehman have termed the levy of CED on industrial units of Fata/Pata a cruel joke and have warned the government of severe resistance against any such move.
In a joint statement these members of parliament said that this decision of federal government has hit the dreams of development and progress of the already backward and poverty stricken residents of the area.
They said that if the government is really sincere in the development of the residents of these areas then it should withdraw the decision forthwith.