The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Friday welcomed the suspension of controversial SRO 191 (I) 2012 and thanked Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh for accepting their demand. LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh in a statement said that the decision to suspend SRO 191 would boost economic activities in the country as seeking Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) numbers or National Tax Numbers of the unregistered buyers, manufacturers, importers and exporters was practically impossible.
He said that the minister had also promised to look into LCCI budget proposals including reduction in Turnover Tax from existing 1 percent to 0.5 percent. He said that the LCCI had conveyed to the minister that SRO 111 pertaining to whitening of capital through Telegraphic Transfer (TT) should be withdrawn in order to promote tax culture and broaden the tax net. Withholding tax for commercial importers should be equivalent to manufacturers. He said that Annexure D of the Income tax Return should also be withdrawn.
Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that the LCCI has also demanded the withdrawal of sales tax on local and imported machinery to strengthen and rejuvenate the process of industrialisation in the country.
LCCI President said that it had also been proposed to the federal minister that if the government wanted to promote tax culture in the country, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) would have to bring new sectors into the tax net including bakeries, restaurants, clinics, hospitals, wedding lawns, beauty parlours/saloons, doctors, practitioners, lawyers and travel agents.
Sheikh said that the finance minister's decision to form nine committees to decide about the future of the controversial SRO 191 and to formulate proposal for the next budget was enough to make the point that the minister wanted to take the business community on board over all important trade and industry related policy making to make the upcoming budget more meaningful and business friendly.