Business circles demanded the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry should engage the government to root out smuggling and under-invoicing that is depriving millions of workers their jobs as domestic industries cave in to untaxed imports.
This was the consensus of the local manufacturers at a function hosted in honour of Mian Anjum Nisar a candidate for slot of FPCCI president. The businessmen emphasised that it would now be criminal not to raise voice from FPCCI forum on the plague that is marginalizing the manufacturing sector of the country. Nisar in his remarks disclosed that industries catering to domestic markets could not afford to keep their industrial processes going on high cost alternate power generation fuels when they had to face the dual challenge of smuggling and under invoicing. He said for the first time the markets were flooded with imported milk preparations, juices, marmalades, toothpastes, shampoos and toilet soap.
"A few years back Pakistan made products were the market leaders in these sectors," he said, adding that many market leaders were now losing that edge to imported brands. "We are losing not only our export markets but have been challenged in the domestic sphere as well by engineering cheaper imports," said business leader Mian Shafqat Ali. He said the ever-increasing under invoicing and smuggling had made the matter worse. He said while government was making efforts to enlarge the tax base it had ignored the influx of smuggled item. "Smugglers do not pay any taxes but survive by greasing the pals of the officials that matter.