Businessmen Panel (BMP) chairman Mian Anjum Nisar has urged the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) to restore twenty-seven trade bodies whose licenses were cancelled earlier by the Directorate General of Trade Organisation (DGTO) so that these trade bodies may work for their community which is much needed to uplift of the country economy.
He said that DGTO hade cancelled various trade associations and chambers of commerce, including women chambers under section 7 of the Trade Organisation Act 2013 which BMP termed as unjustified. "You cannot cancel the trade bodies on one show-cause notice," he said, asserting the BMP belief that due course of law would prevail. He urged that the DGTO office must give them due time to overcome the deficiencies was raised regarding the scrapped trade bodies.
Mian Anjum asked Secretary Commerce to reinstate those twenty-seven trade bodies on temporary basis because most of them had got fresh licenses from the DGTO. He suggested that the ministry may form a committee in order to oversee these trade bodies for the period of six months at least, if their performance and compliance under the Trade Act 2013 satisfy the committee, then they can be allowed to continue and those fail to comply then their licenses should not be restored.
The BMP chairman said business community and traders had played a vital role to uplift the country's economy in difficult times. "It is imperative that the government extend full support and facilitate them so that private sector under the umbrella of registered trade bodies may flourish and provide due assistance and recommendations to the government time to time," he emphasised.
He said they wanted to work with the government as a partner for economy in the era of 21st century. He said the voice of chambers and trade bodies is equally important for any government of any country. He said BMP believed the PTI government was giving serious considerations to chambers and it hoped issues of the chambers and trade associations might be addressed timely by the government.
The BMP requested the government that all notifications of cancellation of the trade bodies issued in 2017 and 2018 should be withheld. He cited that DGTO was working as an attached department of Pakistan government's Ministry of Commerce. It was established in 2007 after promulgation of Trade Organisations Ordinance, 2007, as a regulatory body to implement provisions of the aforesaid Ordinance that was enacted as Trade Organizations Act, 2013 on February 22, 2013.
The core function of the DGTO is to process applications for grant of licenses and registration of trade bodies under the Act. It also oversees the elections and results of elections of office bearers and executive committee members of trade bodies and ensures that Trade Organisations Act and the rules made under it are being followed in letter and spirit by the trade organisations or not.