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Tag: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry

  • KCCI expresses concerns over frequent rise in POL prices in Naya Pakistan

    KCCI expresses concerns over frequent rise in POL prices in Naya Pakistan

    KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has expressed concerns over frequent rise in petroleum prices in Naya Pakistan of present government and said that such hike in prices will make life difficult for common men and will substantially increase the cost of doing business.

    President KCCI Junaid Esmail Makda in a statement on Saturday, while expressing sheer dismay over yet another hike in petroleum prices, devaluing rupee and unbearable inflation, rejected the increase in petroleum prices just ahead of upcoming Eid ul Fitr as a gift for the festival which would not only intensify the hardships for the masses but would also create a very difficult situation for the business and industrial community due to high cost of doing business.

    He noted that after the upsurge in POL prices, HSD price has increased to Rs126.82 while petrol has touched the highest mark of Rs112.68, creating a very difficult situation for people from all walks of life in the ongoing era of inflation.

    “Our Prime Minister talks a lot about cost and ease of doing business in Naya Pakistan, but how is it going to be possible when we have to frequently face hikes in prices of petroleum and other utilities, fluctuating exchange rates with higher duties on import and higher interest rates”, President KCCI asked.

    Referring to the recent severe devaluation of Pakistan rupee against dollar, President KCCI said that the rupee was seen devaluating by approximately 23 percent against US Dollar from Rs123.60 to around Rs152.00, making it the worst performer when compared with 13 other currencies of Asia.

    “Severe devaluation of rupee under IMF dictates along with State Bank’s strategy to keep on raising the key interest rate have resulted in raising the cost of doing business and the inflation, intensifying the hardships for the industry and the public therefore, it is really crucial to review the current strategies being pursued by the economic managers as these have proved counterproductive, detrimental for the economy and totally contrary to government’s claims towards the Ease of Doing Business”, he added.

    He stressed that the emerging situation has to be efficiently addressed and handled very carefully otherwise, the rising petroleum prices and exorbitant devaluation will continue to increase the cost of doing business, which would terribly affect the industrial performance, raise unemployment and open the floodgates of inflation, particularly for the middle and lower segments of the society, besides making the poor more poorer due to unbearable inflation.

    Makda further elaborated that the rising dollar would lead to costlier imports and the exporters will also bear the brunt due to rise in cost of imported raw materials, pushing the economy into further deep crisis. Despite so many measures taken to discourage the imports including the imposition of Regulatory Duty on many items, Pakistan’s imports remain inelastic and a weaker rupee will not help. Mostly, they consist of raw materials, intermediate goods or machinery. Any devaluation would increase their cost thus making Pakistani exporters less competitive, he added.

    He suggested that State Bank needs to ascertain the factors weakening the value of rupee and also check the possibilities of undue speculations and panic buying which, if done, would certainly help in stabilizing the rupee and restore the confidence of the business community.

    Referring to SBP’s Monetary Policy Statement in which benchmark interest rate was raised to 12.25 per cent, President KCCI stated, “The State Bank has to realize that tighter monetary policy stance never yielded positive results therefore, it is high time that the central bank must soften its stance in order to ensure relief to the businessmen and industrialists who are playing a major role in Pakistan’s economic progress and prosperity by continuing their businesses in extremely dire circumstances,” he added.

    President KCCI further noted that the Asian Development Bank has forecasted Pakistan’s economic growth at 3.9 percent for FY19 and 3.6 percent in FY20 while the World Bank has predicted growth rate of 3.4 percent in FY19 and a further decrease to 2.7 percent in FY20.

    Moreover, the lowest projected growth for FY19 comes from the IMF at 2.9 percent which the international lender expects to drop to 2.8 percent in FY20.

    All these poor forecasts by these international organizations paint a bad picture for potential investors as they get scared away which was really worrisome, he opined.

    He hoped that the federal government would realize the gravity of the situation and accordingly take steps to stop further devaluation of rupee against dollar while the State Bank’s benchmark interest rate will also be brought down to single digit to spur economic growth and industrialization in the country.

    A favorable reduction in discount rate would bring down the cost of doing business, attract fresh investment and promote expansion & industrialization, besides creating job opportunities and enhancing exports of the country, he added.

  • KCCI praises Imran Khan for providing relief to tax evaders through amnesty scheme

    KCCI praises Imran Khan for providing relief to tax evaders through amnesty scheme

    KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has praised Prime Minister Imran Khan for giving opportunity to tax evaders to document their black money at very low tax rates.

    KCCI President Junaid Esmail Makda stressed that in order to make the amnesty scheme successful, the government will have to ensure complete secrecy and confidentiality of the declarants’ data at any cost otherwise, they will not be able to achieve the desired results.

    He said that this amnesty scheme must not end up like the last one in which the highly classified data of those individuals who availed the previous amnesty scheme was shared with several government agencies including Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against the commitment to keep declarants’ info confidential.

    Referring to government’s assurance to keep this scheme easy to understand, he hoped that the amnesty scheme has been devised in such a manner that number of queries are kept minimal as it is a well-known fact that individuals will be reluctant to respond to excessive queries seeking details about the source of income and other such questions because of fears of getting into any kind of trouble in future.

    “The business community will be more than happy to become part of the documented economy but the government has to support them by protecting them from any kind of harassment from agencies/ institutions”, he added.

    He further stated that although the government has provided the opportunity to become part of the scheme until June 30 but this scheme must be extended for a longer period.

    After seeing the failure of previous amnesty scheme in which harassment by serving notices was widely witnessed, many individuals will be reluctant to declare their assets hence, the government must extend it and also has to take confidence building measures in due course to regain the trust of the masses.

    “After seeing some success stories of those individuals who avail this year’s amnesty scheme, I am sure many others will also come forward to benefit from the amnesty scheme so it must be made available for a longer period to tap such individuals”, he added.

    He was fairly optimistic that the scheme will help the government in bringing undocumented persons, assets and income into the documented sector. The scheme has the potential to bring in macroeconomic and fiscal stability in the economy.

    President KCCI further stated that this scheme offers a lucrative opportunity to pay just 4 percent for legalizing Benami Assets within the country and 6 percent for assets outside the country while 3 percent tax for undeclared sales which was a good offer for whitening the black money.

    While complimenting Chairman FBR Shabbar Zaidi for taking pro-business steps, Junaid Makda hoped that he would continue to do so throughout his tenure which would help in restoring the confidence of business community to a great extent and that in turn would lead to economic prosperity for the entire country.

    He advised Chairman FBR to formulate practical policies to increase the tax net and catch tax evaders in order to strengthen the country’s economy.

    The loyal taxpayers are being overburdened every year to achieve the revenue targets whereas those outside the tax net continue to enjoy all the luxuries of life without contributing a single rupee to the national exchequer, he opined, adding that FBR has been claiming of having details of all such tax evaders since many years but unfortunately no action has been taken so far to strictly deal with them.

  • Karachi Chamber welcomes restricting FBR officers for freezing taxpayers’ bank accounts

    Karachi Chamber welcomes restricting FBR officers for freezing taxpayers’ bank accounts

    KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has warmly welcomed the first order issued by the newly appointed Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Shabbar Zaidi immediately after assuming charge in which all the Commissioners Inland Revenue have been barred from freezing bank accounts which was being demanded by KCCI since long.

    President KCCI Junaid Makda termed the order as ‘pro-business move’ and the first step in the right direction which would not only help in restoring the lost confidence of the business & industrial community but would also prove to be favorable for the economy as after seeing such pro-business initiatives, many individuals would prefer to come into the tax net, which would result in documenting the economy and improving the country’s lowest tax-to-GDP ratio.

    In a statement issued, Junaid Makda pointed out that by virtue of this order, it would be mandatory for all Commissioners of Inland Revenue to obtain permission from Chairman FBR prior to freezing any bank account while at least 24 hour prior notice will also be served to the owner of the bank account which the business and industrial community highly appreciates.

    He said that the Karachi Chamber had struggled a lot and has been vocally raising voice against massive discretionary powers which have been bestowed to FBR officers even at lower level, intensifying the hardships for the loyal taxpayers.

    “As the first step in the right direction has been taken, we, the business and industrial community of Karachi, expect more such moves in near future. We firmly believe that massive discretionary powers have to be curtailed which is the only way forward to improve revenue collection, ensure economic prosperity and make FBR a taxpayers’ friendly institution”, he added.

    While extending felicitation to Shabbar Zaidi, President KCCI advised Chairman FBR to remain steadfast and keep on taking such bold steps which are in the larger interest of the country and the business community.

    Junaid Makda also extended Karachi Chamber’s full support and cooperation to Chairman FBR for all his future endeavors towards improving the existing taxation system of the country which is in really bad shape.

    He hoped that the newly appointed Chairman FBR would also review and take KCCI’s Budget Proposals into consideration which have been compiled after taking inputs from all the stakeholders.

    “KCCI’s Budget Proposals have been delineated after intense brainstorming as we wanted to ensure that all our recommendations for Federal Budget 2019-20 are devised in such a manner that they prove to be favorable for the economy and ensure an enabling business environment for the entire business & industrial community of Pakistan”, he added.

  • FBR asked not to send notices for turnover tax

    FBR asked not to send notices for turnover tax

    KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has urged Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to issue necessary instructions to all RTOs to refrain from sending notices for demanding the unjust annual turnover Tax to members of Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA) till the issue is resolved as the Annual Turnover Tax, which was 0.1 percent, was inadvertently being charged at 1.0 percent.

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  • KCCI hopes new finance adviser to take steps minimizing taxpayers’ grievances

    KCCI hopes new finance adviser to take steps minimizing taxpayers’ grievances

    KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Monday felicitated Dr. Hafeez Shaikh on his appointment as adviser to prime minister on finance, revenue and economic affairs.

    The KCCI hoped that the new adviser would take practical steps in minimizing grievances of genuine taxpayers.

    Chairman Businessmen Group & Former President KCCI Siraj Kassam Teli and President KCCI Junaid Esmail Makda, while extending heartfelt felicitations to Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh on his appointment as Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance, said that keeping in view his vast experience and past performance, Dr. Hafeez Sheikh will certainly succeed in overcoming numerous crises being suffered by the country.

    In a letter sent to PM’s Adviser, Siraj Teli and Junaid Makda warmly welcomed the appointment of Dr. Hafeez Sheikh as PM’s Adviser and said that that due to his expertise and well acquaintance with trade and economic issues, the business and industrial community of Karachi was fairly optimistic that Dr. Sheikh will be able to successfully devise effective strategies in order to completely get rid of all types of crises.

    They stressed that as country was currently going through severe economic crises, therefore it was really essential that the business and industrial community should be taken on board in the policy making process.

    They hoped that the newly appointed PM’s Adviser would also take practical steps to minimize the grievances being faced by loyal taxpayers who are suffering terribly due to serious loopholes in the existing taxation mechanism.

    They stressed that the consultation strategy adopted by the PTI government with the business community of Karachi must continue and the contribution of more than 70 percent revenue to the national exchequer must always be taken into consideration.

    “The business and industrial community of Karachi stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the government during this difficult time and we will continue to support the government in the larger interest of the country,” they added.

    They also invited Dr. Hafeez Sheikh to visit the Karachi Chamber as soon as possible so that the business and industrial community could get an opportunity to share views about the Amnesty Scheme and also give valuable proposals for the forthcoming Federal Budget 2019-20, besides suggesting ways and means of how to improve the taxation system, enhance revenue generation and ensure ease of doing business which is one of the top most priority of the present government.

    Siraj Teli and Junaid Makda also paid glowing tribute to Former Finance Minister Asad Umer for always realizing the ground realities, making necessary corrections and struggling really hard to somehow minimize the burden on the poor segment of society.

  • Commerce Ministry Help Sought as South Africa Imposes Anti-Dumping Duty on Pakistani Cement

    Commerce Ministry Help Sought as South Africa Imposes Anti-Dumping Duty on Pakistani Cement

    KARACHI: Chairman Pakistan-South Africa Business Forum (PSABF) Mohammad Rafiq Memon has said that Pakistan’s cement exports to South Africa have suffered terribly during the last couple of years because of the anti-dumping duty imposed by the South African government that resulted in shrinking cement export to around US$100 to US$150 million which was around US$700 million prior to imposition of anti-dumping duty.

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  • IMF assistance only option for economy: Shaikh Rasheed

    IMF assistance only option for economy: Shaikh Rasheed

    KARACHI: Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, Federal Minister for Railways on Saturday said the economy is facing immense difficulties.

    “We are stuck in a lot of crises and it is a well-known fact that IMF conditions will be really stiff. I, as Minister, have been reiterating this since day one that we have no other option but to approach the IMF for assistance,” he said while addressing business community at Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).

    He also said that there will be no economic stability without the political stability.

    Highlighting the improved performance of Pakistan Railways (PR), the Minister said that PR has earned Rs4 billion more as compared to the earnings during the same period of previous year. “We have also provided three more container trains to the business community and the number of freight trains during Imran Khan’s has enhanced from just 8 to 14,” he added.

    He said that a total of 24 new trains have been initiated so far in which five categories have been defined for different types of passengers while the occupancy of Rehman Baba Train has reached 160 percent with improved earnings.

    “We have also initiated Jinnah Express and Green Line which will be followed by Sir Syed Express with a target to attract all five types of customers and our overall strategies have been very successful.”

    Referring to 1760km long ML-1 project from Karachi to Peshawar, the Minister said that in this regard, Prime Minister Imran Khan will be signing the agreement on 27th April 2019 which would result in laying of completely new double track from Karachi to Peshawar with fencing on both sides and a minimum speed of 160Kms. Work on this project will be completed in the next five years, he added.

    Commenting on Karachi Circular Railway Project, the Minister committed that as soon as the Sindh government signs agreement, approves the design and feasibility, Pakistan Railway will remove all encroachments, of which many of the commercial encroachments have already been removed, and hand over the track to Sindh government but the Sindh government has to work in this regard.

    “If KCR is not completed during our tenure, it will never be completed”, he opined, adding that it was a really essential project which has become part of CPEC now and the Gwadar port which is capable of docking 190 ships each day.

    Responding to a suggestion, he invited the business community to undertake joint venture for setting up setting up the proposed parking plaza on PR land at II Chundrigar Road but Pakistan Railways must continue to get its share regardless of whether the parking plaza becomes successful or not.

    Speaking on the occasion, Chairman Businessmen Group & Former President KCCI Siraj Kassam Teli, while referring to Imran Khan’s last year’s visit on July 22 to Karachi to meet the business community just a couple of days before the general election, requested the Sheikh Rasheed to ask PM Imran Khan to honor all his commitments including his commitment to visit KCCI.

    He said, “during the said meeting, we suggested to remove all those individuals who are involved in wrongdoings and corruption. We cautioned that the corrupt bureaucracy will not allow Imran Khan to take remedial measures but these elements have to be pinpointed and sidelined while the honest officers must be brought forward at the helm of the affairs.”

    “However, except a few nominal changes done recently, no major change was witnessed in the FBR, NAB and FIA and the same old corrupt elements were given freehand, allowed to continue their wrongdoings and asked to make corrections”, he added.

    Referring to a letter sent to Prime Minister Imran Khan, Siraj Teli said that the Private Sector’s representatives, who work on the Boards of Public Sector Companies such as Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) etc., take/ endorse decisions purely on the basis of whatever information is provided to them at the Board Meeting of any particular Public Sector company and that information may not be correct or may be incomplete.

    “However, after a number of years when FIA or NAB find anything wrong in these public sector companies, they immediately start pursuing private sector representatives who have got nothing to do with day-to-day activities of the public sector companies yet they are accused and undergo extensive investigation and frequent summoning by NAB or FIA”, he added.

    He asked Sheikh Rasheed to request the Prime Minister to look into this matter and give immunity to representatives of private sector from such investigations. They should not even be contacted until and unless there is a solid proof of their direct involvement or they being beneficiaries. The Karachi Chamber will never support anyone who is found guilty of any misconduct”, he said, adding that the business community was really worried and fed up due to constant harassment by NAB, FIA and FBR which is not acceptable to at all.

    Commenting on the forthcoming Amnesty Scheme, Siraj Teli said that the previous amnesty was better but this amnesty scheme would become a failure due to lack of trust as those individuals who declared their assets in the previous amnesty scheme, were constantly being pursued and harassed by FBR, FIA and NAB. “Amnesty without protection and without dealing with the trust deficit would lead to failure”, he added.

    President KCCI Junaid Esmail Makda, in his welcome address, stated that Karachi was one of the world’s most populous city and one of the mega cities. Lamentably, it may be the only city of this size that doesn’t have a mass transit transport system now when surprisingly, it did have Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) in the past.

    He said that Karachi produces about 30 percent of the manufactured good, handles 95 percent of foreign trade and contributes more than 70 percent to the national revenue yet it remains deprived of basic facilities including KCR.

  • Ministry assures softening labeling conditions on imported consignments till June 30

    Ministry assures softening labeling conditions on imported consignments till June 30

    In a significant relief to the industry, the government has agreed to relax labeling conditions until the end of June 2019 to expedite the clearance of consignments stuck at ports. This decision was confirmed by industry sources on Wednesday.

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  • Eatery owners knowingly ignore hygiene requirements: Sindh Food Authority

    Eatery owners knowingly ignore hygiene requirements: Sindh Food Authority

    KARACHI: Eatery owners are well aware about their shortcomings yet they ignore hygiene requirements and compromise with public health, Abrar Ahmed Sheikh, Director Operations, Sindh Food Authority (SFA) said on Tuesday.

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  • Printing details, ingredients on imported goods: KCCI demands reviewing notification implementation date

    Printing details, ingredients on imported goods: KCCI demands reviewing notification implementation date

    KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has demanded the commerce ministry to review the date of implementation of a notification regarding printing of details and ingredients on the imported goods.

    In a statement on Monday KCCI President Junaid Esmail Makda requested Advisor to PM for Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood to instruct relevant department to inform all concerned about the implementation date of SRO 237(I)/2019 i.e. July 1, 2019 to prevent blockage of clearance of pending consignments and direct the Ministry of Commerce & Textile (Commerce Division) to issue necessary amendment in the SRO stating the effective date as 1st July’2019.

    In a statement issued, President KCCI stated that SRO 237, which has been finalized and implemented without any consultation with the business community and other stakeholders, was not acceptable in its present state and it has to be reviewed in consultation with all stakeholders.

    Referring to a letter sent to PM’s Advisor and the discussions held with Chairman Businessmen Group & Former President KCCI Siraj Kassam Teli about the implementation of SRO 237(I)/ 2019 dated February 19, 2019, President KCCI said that although the PM’s Advisor clarified that the said SRO will be implemented from July 1, 2019 but no notification carrying the exact date of implementation has been issued so far which has created a confusing situation and resulted in blockade of containers at the ports which is totally contrary to government’s resolve towards the ease of doing business.

    He demanded that the losses suffered by importers on account of demurrage and detention due to the confusion must be waived off to provide some relief to perturbed traders who have been constantly approaching KCCI to seek assistance.

    “It is a matter of grave concern that Customs Authorities remain confined to SRO 237 and were not paying any attention to the hardships being faced by traders hence, the Ministry of Commerce must issue the clarification about the implementation date so that SRO 237 is not misused to create problems for traders”, he added.

    He said that since the effective date of 1st July’2019 was not mentioned in the SRO.237, in legal terms date of issue has been interpreted as the effective date, and customs officials at various levels have held the clearance of cargo on pretext of seeking clarification from FBR which led to delays and resulted in raising the costs of demurrage and detention to the importers.

    He was of the opinion that the implementation of said SRO from July 1, 2019 has provided sufficient time period of more than three months to foreign manufacturers of food stuffs to comply with recent amendments in the Import Policy Order 2016.

    According to SRO 237, it has been made mandatory that the ingredients and details of the imported food products (e.g. nutritional facts, usage instructions etc.) shall be printed in Urdu and English languages on consumer packaging while the logo of Halal certification body shall also be printed on the consumer packaging and the labelling shall not be in the form of a sticker, overprinting, stamp or scratched label.

    Moreover, the importers have been further advised that the shipment shall be accompanied by a Halal Certificate issued by Halal Certification Body, accredited with an Accrediting Body which is a member of International Halal Accreditation Forum (IHAF) or Standard Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries.