Category: Trade & Industry

This section covers news on trade and industry. Pakistan Revenue is committed to providing the latest updates on business trends.

Sindh EPA takes measures to control Industrial, vehicular emissions

KARACHI: Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has taken major steps to control industrial and vehicular emissions and retain 40 percent improvement in air quality.

The air quality of Karachi city has improved by 40 percent after imposition of lockdown to contain spread of COVID-19.

In this regard, SEPA issued directives to all industrial associations to conduct air quality monitoring in their industrial areas to check air quality degradation and plant saplings in huge number in and around their factories.

Industries have been asked to submit their tree plantation plan within one week into the office of SEPA.

Industries have also been directed to improve the conditions of their buses of shuttle service to control their air emissions and take practical measures to facilitate smooth plying of vehicles in and around their factories.

Moreover, SEPA is also re-launching its vehicular emission control campaign throughout the city to fine/penalize smoke-emitting vehicles with the help of traffic police.

In this regard an emergency meeting of all industrial associations of the city including Federal B Area, North Karachi, SITE, and Super Highway was held under the chairmanship of Director General SEPA Naeem Ahmed Mughal at the office of SITE Association.

The meeting was attended by Sulaiman Chawla President SITE Association, Shaheen Ilyas President Super Highway, Nasim Akhtar President North Karachi Industrial Association, Noman Yaqoob President Landhi Association, Abdullah Abid F.B.Area Industrial Association, Sheikh Umer Rehan President Korangi Association of Trade and Industry, Naveed Shakoor President Bin Qasim Association besides prominent industrialists Zubair Motiwala, Salim Pareekh and Javed Balwani.

Representatives from SEPA were Director Regional Office Karachi Aashiqui Langha, Deputy Directors Waris Gabol and Imran Sabir besides DG SEPA.

Addressing the meeting, the DG SEPA Naeem Ahmed Mughal said that for the vigorous enforcement of environmental laws all necessary measures are being taken by the environmental watchdog on priority basis.

He informed the participants of the meeting that SEPA had conducted a comparative study of air quality of Karachi prior to lock-down and during the lock-down; which revealed a 40 per cent improvement in air as a result of lock-down.

He pointed out that deteriorating air environment is equally a matter of grave concern for all of us and its control is possible with the collective efforts of all stakeholders including industries and vehicle owners/transporters.

He further said that to improve the air quality in the city all the industrial associations should start beautification campaigns at the major roundabouts in their areas along with plantation at the open spaces to improve the air quality parameters.

DG SEPA further directed that all the industrial associations should conduct an air quality study in Karachi to analyze the present air quality with regard to its improvement.

He also underscored the need of environment-friendly transport for commuting the industrial workers to help mitigate their air emissions.

The DG SEPA specifically directed for the proper disposal of solid waste being generated by the industries which includes both hazardous and non-hazardous industrial waste.

“Wastewater treatment plants should be installed as per the directives of Water Commission and in case of any negligence on this score, SEPA will take stern action’, he warned.

He further said that the culprits who are responsible for the burning of solid waste in any area will be dealt with iron hand. SEPA simply needs cooperation of public in this regard to complain us as and when any such incident occurs in their area.

At the end, he vowed to provide technical assistance to industries with regard to industrial pollution control.

It may be recalled that according to data collected in April 2020 during the lock-down by SEPA from different locations of six districts of Karachi the average particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) – the most lethal and stubborn air pollutant – was improved by 39 percent as compared to the same data taken from 76 locations of the city in February 2020 before the lock-down. Likewise, the noise level of the city was also improvement by 19 percent during the lock-down.

The district-wise details of the data revealed that air quality of districts Central, East, South, West, Malir and Korangi was improved by 8, 61, 40, 37, 25 and 54 percent respectively while an improvement in the noise level of Central 42, East 20, South 15, West 17, Malir 2 and Korangi 26 percent occurred during the lock-down as compare to before lockdown.

August 20, 2020
Iqbal Tabish appointed as FPCCI secretary general

KARACHI: Muhammad Iqbal Tabish has been appointed as general secretary of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) with effect from August 19, 2020, said a statement.

FPCCI president Mian Anjum Nisar appointed Muhammad Iqbal Tabish as the Secretary General of the organization in accordance with rules and procedures laid out in Trade Organization Ordinance of Pakistan.

The appointment of Iqbal Tabish has been termed as a hopeful prospect for FPCCI in view of his wide experience of working with public and private organizations at national and international level.

Prior to assuming office of the Secretary General FPCCI, Iqbal Tabish has served in Ministry of Industries and Production as Chief Executive Officer of Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) and Secretary General SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

He has also worked as a Senior Economist and Head (R&I) at WTO Cell of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, Ministry of Commerce and has been associated with FPCCI as Director (R&D) in addition to other important assignments.

Iqbal Tabish has a long term association with National and International organizations, which included Member, Economic Advisory Council (UNESCAP), Observer on World Banks’ Investment Climate Fund’s Program on Climate Resilience, Stakeholder Advisory Network-CIF, Steering Committee Member of Sweden Standards Institute (South and East Asia) and has been regular invitee to Expert Group Meetings on SAFTA, Honorary Secretary General, China-South Asia Business Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Yunnan and Sichuan Province of Peoples’ Republic of China and Member, Advisory Committee of SAARC Trade Portal Network of GIZ in addition to involvement in projects of UNDP and World Bank Group.

Scholastically enriched, Iqbal Tabish is a Ph. D Scholar in a leading university and holds M. Phil Degree in Management Sciences (Finance) along with Master Degree in the faculty of Economics as well as Business Administration.

He has contributed in the development of literature on trade, economics, intra-regional transport and connectivity, energy, climate change and author of several publications in the similar areas.

August 19, 2020
Business confidence falls on COVID: OICCI survey

KARACHI: Business confidence survey conducted throughout Pakistan during May – June 2020, were largely influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic which has negatively impacted nearly all the businesses, Overseas Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) said in its latest survey released on Wednesday.
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August 5, 2020
Tenure extension request of trade bodies rejected: Razak Dawood

KARACHI: Abdul Razzak Dawood, Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, has said that there is no provision in the law to extend tenure of trade bodies.

“There is no consideration of extending tenure of trade bodies office bearers and even the law doesn’t allow such proposal,” a statement issued by United Business Group (UBG) on Monday quoting the advisor.

He was talking to a delegation led by Patron in Chief of United Business Group (UBG) and former Chief Executive of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) SM Muneer.

Secretary Commerce Salih Farooqui, Former Presidents of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) Zubair Tufail, Abdul Rauf Alam, Khalid Tawab, Sohail Altaf, Zafar Bakhtayari and Malik Sohail Hussain were also present at the occasion.

Dawood mentioned that office bearers of FPCCI and some other trade bodies have brought the idea to extend the term of their office for one more year in the backdrop of Coronavirus pandemic situation but it was rejected because there is no any provision in the related laws.

While answering a question asked from the delegation he clearly said that elections of trade bodies would held on the time as the Trade Bodies Ordinance provides one year tenure for the office bearers.

In the meeting SM Muneer applauded the measure to curb coronavirus taken bay Prime Minister Imran Khan and his team.

He said that with the grace of Almighty now the spread of infection is under control, however another high spread is feared during Eid ul Adha. “People should follow the SOPs and precautions to avoid any break out,” he added.

SM Muneer said that gradually the virus spread is lowering down globally and more exports orders were expected.

He said that this the time to activate related TDAP official and commercial attachés globally to avail the opportunity.

July 27, 2020
RTO-III Karachi assures exporters of resolving pending issues on priority

KARACHI: Dr. Amir Ali Khan Talpur, Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue, Regional Tax Office (RTO)-III, Karachi has assured the exporters of resolving pending issues on priority basis.
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July 27, 2020
FPCCI expresses concerns over grant of huge exemptions to FTAs, PTAs

KARACHI: Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has expressed concerns over huge amount of exemptions, concessions granted under Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Preferential Trade Agreements (PTA).

The apex trade body urged the government to redesign the FTAs and PTAs with a view to promote the domestic industry of Pakistan, as the government has suffered revenue loss of over Rs45 billion during FY 2019-20 due to these agreements signed with different countries.

Moreover, the general exemption on imports from China under this agreement has caused revenue loss of Rs 26.86 billion during this period.

FPCCI President Mian Anjum Nisar suggested that Pakistan should have entered into Free Trade Agreements and Preferential Trade Agreements with only those countries where it has a clear and mutual competitive advantage.

He recommended the government to include maximum finished goods which can be exported to China on tariff line offered by China to ASEAN countries.

He demanded that the concerned stakeholders should also be taken on board while framing and finalizing the recommendations in this regard.

Referring to the data of the Federal Board of Revenue, he stated that the government has suffered revenue loss of Rs 45.020 billion during current fiscal year due to the FTAs and PTAs signed with different countries.

According to the reports, figures reveal that the general exemption on import from SAARC countries caused revenue loss of Rs 231 million during this period.

The general exemption on import from SAARC countries under SAFTA Agreement has revenue impact of Rs1.602 billion.

Similarly, the general exemption on import from SAARC countries under SAFTA Agreement caused revenue loss of Rs 15 million.

The general exemption on import from China under the FTA has revenue impact of Rs6.911 billion during 2019-20.

The general exemption on import from Malaysia under PTA caused revenue loss of Rs 2.517 billion during this period. Under the exemption on import from Indonesia under Pak-Indonesia PTA caused revenue loss of Rs3.65 billion.

Mian Anjum Nisar suggested the government to devise a strategy in the light of impact on domestic industry, convincing other countries to liberalize their import policy by reducing tariff lines and easing sensitive list for Pakistan merchandise.

He said that during the first phase of FTA with China, Pakistan’s trade deficit had improved from 2.9 billion dollar to over 12 billion dollars over the last decade.

He suggested that Pakistan should have entered into Free Trade Agreements and Preferential Trade Agreements with only those countries where it has a clear and mutual competitive advantage.

FPCCI President said that local cost of production is already high on account of high tariff of electricity and gas, coupled with import duties on inputs, making the local production uncompetitive.

He said that Free Trade Agreements signed with different countries without taking the real stakeholders onboard, are damaging the local industry, as imports of several products under FTA with these countries are subject to zero percent import duty.

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FBR grants Rs45 billion customs duty exemption under free trade agreements

July 21, 2020
OICCI members pay one third of total tax collection

KARACHI: The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) said that the foreign investors operating in Pakistan and multinational companies (MNCs) have contributed around 1/3^rd of the total tax collection by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) during fiscal year 2019/2020.
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July 15, 2020
Industry rejects cut in gas supply; terms anti-business move

KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Friday strongly rejected the cut in gas supply for industrial consumers and CNG stations.

Chairman Businessmen Group (BMG) and Former President KCCI Siraj Kassam Teli and President (KCCI) Agha Shahab Ahmed Khan, while totally rejecting SSGC’s load shedding schedule for Industrial Consumers and CNG Stations, stated that this unjust and anti-business move would completely destroy the industries who are already going through the toughest time and questing really hard for survival particularly in an extraordinary situation caused by coronavirus pandemic.

In order to overcome the ongoing electricity load shedding, SSGC has announced to carry out gas load shedding for three days to be suffered by industrial consumers, captive power plants and CNG stations which would prove detrimental for the industries who are already in deep crises and at the verge of complete collapse due to negative impact of lockdown imposed since March 2020, Siraj Teli and Agha Shahab said while terming SSGC’s load shedding as ‘sheer injustice’ and ‘conspiracy’ against the city of lights which is deliberately being plunged into darkness.

They pointed out that the government has always reiterated its resolve to provide uninterrupted electricity and gas supply to five export-oriented zero-rated sectors which hardly cover up around 1300 to 1500 industries but what about the rest of 14,500 industries, out of a total number of 16,000 industries in Karachi which continue to remain deprived as no relief has ever been given and they, despite being taxpayers, have to bear all the anguish and go through gas and electricity load shedding, exorbitant tariffs, infrastructure and other civic issues.

Instead of providing relief to all the industries in the ongoing extraordinary situation, the ECC recently approved Rs2.89 per unit tariff hike in KE Bills and now the hardships would aggravate further as the business community is being compelled to face gas load shedding for three days a week which is unacceptable, they added.

They criticized that if the government has to create so much trouble through such anti-business policies then they should formally make an announcement once and for all that all the industrialists should immediately shut down their factories forever and go somewhere else.

July 10, 2020
Foreign investors express satisfaction on security environment

KARACHI: The foreign investors operating in Pakistan have showed satisfaction over security environment especially after quick response of law enforcement agency against failed terror attack on Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

“The smooth and professional handling of the brazen attack on Pakistan Stock Exchange on June 29, and restoring order within a very short time, is a testimony of the OICCI members’ confidence in the ability of the LEAs to professionally combat any threat to life and property in the country, said Haroon Rashid, President Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) while commenting on latest findings of security survey,

OICCI is the largest chamber in terms of economic contribution and representing top 200 foreign investors in Pakistan, has released the results of its latest Annual Security survey 2020, covering feedback on the security environment from July 2019 to June 2020.

Overall, the foreign investors have shown high level of satisfaction on the fast improving security environment and have also appreciated the performance of law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in the main business centers of Pakistan, Karachi and Lahore, raising the security satisfaction profile of the two cities and bringing them at par with other megacities in the region.

The OICCI President said: “Foreign investors are not deterred by isolated incidences and continue to take a holistic view of the operating environment, which, OICCI members perceive to be highly positive showing continuous improvement.”

The survey respondents included CEOs and senior management of member organizations, and was participated by 70 per cent of the OICCI’s 200 members, who belong to 35 countries and operate in 14 key sectors of the economy in Pakistan.

It may be noted that over two third of the OICCI members have their head offices in Karachi with operations all over country. The survey was conducted from May 15th till June 22nd.

OICCI 2020 Security Survey indicates that the foreign investors, overall, are impressed with further improvement in the security environment over the past twelve months, since July 2019, especially in Karachi and Lahore, with noticeable improvement in other business centers as well.

While giving assessment of the overall security situation, 60 percent of the respondents have reported improved security environment for own and Customer’s Business, as well as for their respective suppliers and employees.

Irfan Siddiqui, OICCI Vice President pointed out: “this improvement is over and above the already improved security environment last year, and the continuous improvement recorded in the OICCI members annual security surveys since 2015.”

He further added that It is highly encouraging that despite many disruptions during the past twelve months, due to Azadi March in December 2019, border tension with India during Q3 2019, and subsequent travel restriction since end March 2020 due to COVID 19, the visit of foreign nationals visiting Pakistan for OICCI members business, pre COVID 19, showed a healthy increase, as over 40 percent respondents reported more visitors than last year, with 26 percent hosting more than 50 visitors and most respondents getting between 20 and 50 visitors.

The foreign business visitors were mainly from China, UK, USA, UAE, as well as other European and Asian countries.

Due to the sustained improvement of the security environment, OICCI members reported that over 90 percent of the Board and management meetings of their Pakistan business operations, involving HQ and/or Regional Management, were held within the country.

In terms of serious crimes, 87 percent respondents indicated a decrease over last year in Karachi and Lahore. However, the survey respondents have expressed concern on the increasing trend of street crimes.

All in all, 37 percent respondents in Karachi and 27 percent in Lahore reported concern on increasing street crimes.

According to the results Islamabad experienced the lowest increase in street crimes among the key business centers.

There was also a thumbs up for the LEAs as, by and large, the foreign investors were satisfied with the performance of Law Enforcement Agencies, with over 90 percent expressing satisfaction in their interactions with Karachi and Lahore Police, Sindh Rangers, Punjab Police and CPLC and 84% for Sindh Police.

OICCI Security survey is very comprehensive and gives a detailed feedback of a large number of foreign investors operating in Pakistan on various aspect of doing business connected with security and its impact on their operation which is regularly sought by diplomats and security professionals.

Established in 1860, Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), is the largest Chamber of Commerce in Pakistan based on economic contribution in the form of taxes and investment by its members and is the collective voice of over top 200 foreign investors in Pakistan, including over 50 Fortune 500 companies, who contribute about one third of the total tax collection in the country and a significant portion of the GDP.

Coming from 35 countries and working in 14 key sectors of the economy, OICCI members are leaders not only in economic activities and investment but are also thought leaders in transfer of technology and in CSR activities.

July 6, 2020
KCCI rejects extension in lockdown

KARACHI: Business community on Wednesday rejected the extension in lockdown till July 15, 2020 by the Sindh government and said that procedures should be laid down to allow business activities.

Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) said urged the provincial government to withdraw the notification immediately.

In a statement Siraj Kassem Teli, chairman Businessmen Group and former president KCCI and Agha Shahab president KCCI rejected the extension in lockdown.

Sinch March 23, 2020 the Sindh government imposed partial lockdown to prevent spread of coronavirus. At least 213,467 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported up to July 01, 2020 in the country. Besides, the pandemic claimed 4,395 lives to date.

The KCCI said that restaurants, marriage halls, beauty parlors, cinemas etc. were shut for the last four months and their business were almost on verge of collapse.

They said that due to the continuous lockdown these businesses would close down and it would result in mass unemployment.

They urged the provincial government to allow opening of all businesses with strict Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). They said that if through administrative measure an effective lockdown had been imposed then why not in case of implementing the SOPs.

The provincial government should realize problems of business community and resolve those on priority basis.

July 1, 2020