Ease-of-doing business: Various laws, rules negatively hitting Pakistan’s ranking: FPCCI

KARACHI: Advisory Council of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on budget finds various laws and regulations that do not generate much revenue but on the other hand badly affecting ease of doing business ranking of Pakistan.

During the meeting advisory council of the FPCCI has decided to extend its full support and cooperation to the government which is struggling to improve economic environment under the adverse conditions created by Covid-19.

The advisory committee during its first meeting analysed the hardships being created under section 8B of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, wherein a registered person is not allowed to adjust input tax in excess of ninety percent of the output tax. This restriction not only restrains the taxpayer to claim its legitimate input tax but is also affecting the ease of doing business and thereby increasing the cost of business.

The Advisory Council under the Convenership of Zakariya Usman, former President of FPCCI, reviewed the whole scenario and after due diligence unanimously proposed that hardship and discrepancy created by Section 8B of Sales Tax Act should be removed in the adjustment of input and output tax by allowing 100 percent adjustment of input tax. Amendment in Sec-8B of Sales Tax Act 1990 should be made in the coming budget to allow 100 percent adjustment of input tax against output tax to all registered persons in order to remove anomalies.

President of FPCCI, Nasir Hayat Magoo has categorically informed that the present global and domestic conditions are completely different; Covid-19 has changed the world economic situation dramatically as most of the businesses are struggling for their survival.

Therefore, keeping in view this scenario FPCCI, the apex trade body of the country should act as a supporter to both business sector and the government.

In this context he has formed the FPCCI Advisory Council on Budget with the experts from all segments of economy which includes, present office bearers of FPCCI, Kh. Shahzeb Akram, Senior Vice President, Muhammad Athar Sultan Chawla, Nasir Khan, Muhammad Zahid Shah, Qurban Ali (Vice Presidents), Engr. M.A. Jabbar, Ismail Suttar, Muhammad Adnan Jalil (former Vice Presidents), Haji Abdul Ghani Usman, Shabir Hassan Mansha (Conveners FPCCI Standing Committees), Ashfaq Tola, Zafar Saeed, Shahid Ahmed Khan, Arshad Shahzad, Zeeshan Merchant, Abdul Qader Memon, Tanveer Ahmed, Asif Haroon, Shahid Jatoi, Akhtar Hussain Jabbar, Munawar Shaikh, Rehmatullah Wazir, Kamran Riaz, Qamar Usman, Liaqat Ali Shaikh, Muhammad Iqbal Dada and Anwar Kashif Mumtaz. While keeping in view vast experience and expertise in the economic and taxation affairs, President FPCCI has appointed Zakariya Usman former President of FPCCI to lead the council as the convener of the FPCCI Advisory Council on Budget.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021