Chairman, Businessman Panel (BP), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and former vice president, Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Adnan Jalil has called for announcement of a sustainable industrial policy to increase export. Talking to this scribe, he said that the industrial policy should be implementable and beneficial for both small and large scale industries of the country.
For the development of manufacturing, he said both federal and provincial governments should make efforts for bringing cut in the cost of doing business in the country and for this purpose, especially stressed need for cut in the power tariff and minimising the number of industries related departments in the country.
He said that FPCCI is highly esteemed trade body and such apex body around the world are part and parcel of the think-Tank of the government and play an important role in the economic and budgetary policies of the governments. But, unfortunately, he said though its president remained part of the various important boards. But, it is still not playing its due role.
Adnan Jalil said that the business community of the country have to seriously think and instead of infighting they should unite on single platform and the people of knowledge and commitments take it to the helm brought competent people any group on key posts without any discrimination to arrest the declining exports and growing imports and also improve the capital and current accounts deficit of the country.
He said that the rate of investment (ROVs) in the country is on decline with each passing day while the confidence of the business community in government is also not upto mark. Big reason behind such situation is the levy of rampant number of taxes by federal, provincial and local governments. Adnan Jalil, who is also general secretary of Business Advisory Committee (BAC), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also called for the introduction of one-window operation for the facilitation of investors and zero-rating of the export-oriented industries as retrieve exporters of the sales tax and other related problems. The former office-bearer of FPCCI also stressed need for adopting calculated economic policies to arrest the pressure of 15 to 20 percent depreciation of currency and in long term the appreciation of rupee and bringing rupee and dollar parity to the ratio of Rs 70/-, which is not impossible, but the only need is to keep our house in order.
He called for keeping national interest supreme and discouraging of the import of unnecessary goods to prevent foreign exchange reserves from pressure and instead of indirect taxes promote the culture of direct taxes, which is currently only 4 per cent of the total national revenue receipts and its phase-wise reaching to 25 percent of the tax revenue of the country.
The chairman, FPCCI Regional Standing Committee on Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs also proposed levy of some fixed tax on SME sector, which in the prevailing situation is not participating in contribution to national economy. He said that unfortunately the SME sector of Pakistan is not progressing in proportion to the growth of the sector in India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Nepal and other countries of the region. For putting SME sector on track of development, he called for framing good and workable policies.