LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) while highlighting the taxation-related issues has sought the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) help for immediate resolution.
LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah in a letter to FBR Chairman Muhammad Javaid Ghani on Tuesday pointed out that the rate of duties for both commercial and industry must be same so that the misuse of raw materials imported for industry can be discouraged. Moreover, the government must eliminate the regulatory duties on those raw materials which are not manufactured locally.
He said the taxation system should be made simpler in such a way so that no harassment is created by the tax officials among the businesses. The FBR has granted special tax exemptions to the manufacturers based in free zones like Federal/Provincial Administered Tribal Areas (FATA/PATA) and others. These exemptions should only be provided to the export-oriented industries as they affect the competitiveness of industries located in other parts of the country. The stakeholders should also be taken into confidence in this regard, he added.
He further said that the withholding tax is being deducted at different stages from the commercial importers. This amount is refundable but is not being paid to the commercial importers, he said, adding that the refunds must be cleared at the earliest. The commercial importers pay their withholding tax at the import stage which has been converted into minimum tax, he said, and urged the FBR to restore the final tax regime for the commercial importers.
He said the taxation-related issues are hitting the economy hard therefore these issues should be tackled on priority. He also urged the FBR chief to clear pending sales tax and income tax refunds. To facilitate the businesses, the self-assessment scheme should be reintroduced so that the inspector's regime can be abolished.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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