Pakistan will participate in the two-day World Free Zone Convention (WFZC), which started at World Customs Organisation (WCO) headquarters, Brussels, on Tuesday (June 5).
Sheikh Javaid, Chairman, standing committee on Export Processing and Free Zones (EP&FZ) of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) left here on Sunday to participate in the convention.
The event has been organised with a view to provide an effective forum to discuss zone development - tax and legal issues for public/ private joint ventures, role of economic operators to secure and facilitate trade, freight & transport environment and other related matters for betterment of such zones.
Javaid has been heading the EP&FZ committee for the last seven years and had earlier attended a SFZC seminar held in Skopje, Macedonia. This seminar will provide an opportunity to the managers as well as investors of international free zones to mutually benefit from the experience, shortcomings and bottlenecks being faced by each zone.
Besides the WCO introductory talk on standards, the Convention would pay special attention to the setting up and monitoring customs bases in public and private zones and compliance issues. It would also study how Chinese Special Economic Zones (SEZs) structure their customs and zone relationships, keeping the customs authorities on side-the role and responsibility of the zone authority.
According to agenda of the Convention available here, other issues that would be taken up include: taxation initiatives, a review of current practices around the world as they affect transitional corporations and the move towards flat taxes.
Using tax incentives to create clusters, including financial zones, using transfer pricing and double tax treaties, how important are tax incentives to today's transnational companies.
Zone development, tax & legal issues for public/private joint ventures, and national planning, how corporates and zones could benefit from investment treaties. World trade facilitation initiatives would also be discussed.