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  • KCCI felicitates Shahbaz for becoming Prime Minister

    KCCI felicitates Shahbaz for becoming Prime Minister

    KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Monday felicitated Shahbaz Sharif for taking oath as 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan.

    The leadership of Businessmen Group (BMG) and Office Bearers of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry, on behalf of the entire business and industrial community of Karachi, extended heartfelt congratulations to Shahbaz Sharif on taking oath as 23rd Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

    READ MORE: KCCI demands immediate withdrawal of policy rate hike

    In a joint statement issued, Chairman BMG Zubair Motiwala, Vice Chairman BMG Tahir Khaliq, Haroon Farooki, Anjum Nisar and Jawed Bilwani, General Secretary BMG AQ Khalil, President KCCI Muhammad Idrees, Senior Vice President Abdul Rehman Naqi and Vice President Qazi Zahid Hussain hoped that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif would now prioritize some of the urgent economic issues being faced by the country and pay special attention to the problems being suffered by the business & industrial community of Karachi since long. They also advised the Prime Minister to come up an effective mechanism which must ensure that every single decision or policy which directly or indirectly affects trade and industry, must devised in consultation with the business and industrial community.

    READ MORE: SBP intervention sought to stop further rupee devaluation

    They were of the opinion that the federal government has to pay attention towards some of the most pressing issues of Karachi particularly improving the infrastructure of Karachi and other serious issues like gas, electricity and water crises being faced by the business & industrial community of this city which continues to contribute a mammoth share of more than 65 percent revenue to the national exchequer, more than 95 percent to the provincial kitty and 54 percent in terms of exports despite all odds.

    In order to ensure sustainable economic prosperity, the federal government has to revisit all the policies so that the sense of deprivation felt by Karachiites and the city’s business community may be negated.

    READ MORE: Businessmen want early resolution of political uncertainty

    They stressed that PM Shahbaz Sharif must gather a team of economic experts, reliable and honest members of Business Community, who have absolute know-how of the issues on top priority from different sectors of the economy.

    The proposed team comprising of genuine representatives of business and industrial community would surely be able to prudently guide the government in formulating numerous policies directly or indirectly affecting the trade and industry.

    READ MORE: Direct flights between Pakistan, Tajikistan needed

    This step would certainly create a win-win situation and would be warmly welcomed by the entire business and industrial community of Pakistan as it was in the larger interest of the country, they added. BMG Leadership and KCCI Office Bearers extended full support and cooperation to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and his team so that long lasting progress and prosperity for the entire country could be ensured.

  • KCCI demands immediate withdrawal of policy rate hike

    KCCI demands immediate withdrawal of policy rate hike

    KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has urged the central bank to immediately withdraw the rise in the key policy rate of 2.5 per cent.

    Chairman Businessmen Group (BMG) Zubair Motiwala and President Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) Muhammad Idrees, while highly criticizing the State Bank’s move to exorbitantly raise the interest rate by 2.5 percent to 12.5 percent in an emergent meeting, urged Governor SBP to immediately revisit and withdraw this irrational increase as it would prove disastrous for the economy, exports and the industries.

    READ MORE: SBP increases policy rate sharply by 250bps to 12.25%

    In a joint statement issued, Chairman BMG and President KCCI stated that the entire business & industrial community was in a state of shock to see SBP’s anti-business, anti-economy and anti-exports move which has been taken particularly in a situation when the country’s economy was not so bad. State Bank’s autonomy doesn’t mean that it was free to take such a harsh step overnight which has never happened in 25 years’ history.

    It was highly unfair to abruptly and exorbitantly raise the interest rates without bothering to hold consultation with the stakeholders, they said, adding that the Karachi Chamber, from time to time, requested Governor State Bank to visit KCCI so that numerous monetary issues and central bank’s policies affecting businesses could be discussed in detail but, unfortunately, Governor SBP has no time to discuss some of the most pressing issues being suffered by the business community of Karachi.

    READ MORE: KATI terms sudden policy rate hike as economic disaster

    They noted that last month, Pakistan’s exports recorded an increase of 29.1 percent on Month-on-Month (MoM) basis as compared to last year which clearly indicates that the export sector was performing very well but now, the increase in interest rate would have a deep negative impact on the export performance. It will be completely disastrous for the industries and future investments as nobody would come forward to set up any industry due to exorbitant interest rate and the high cost of doing business which was going to bring the survival of businesses at stake, they cautioned.

    Chairman BMG and President KCCI said that the extortionate increase in the interest rate seems like an attempt to completely shut down the industrial and export activities. Is the State Bank intending to completely block the desperately needed foreign exchange being earned through exports and bring Pakistan’s economy at par with the Sri Lankan economy, they asked and advised the SBP to compare Pakistan’s excessive interest rate with the global interest rates which, we fear, would cool down the economic activities.

    READ MORE: SBP intervention sought to stop further rupee devaluation

    They said that the decision to increase the interest rate has been taken to contain inflation but keeping in view the ground realities and the overall high cost of doing business, the business and industrial community firmly believes that enhanced interest rate would prove counter-productive by further nurturing the inflation.

    Chairman BMG said, “As leader of the business community of Karachi, I fervently demand that the decision to raise the interest rate must be revisited which is purely not in the interest of the country hence it has to be taken back while the SBP must also hold consultations with the stakeholders prior to imposing such decision directly affecting the business and industrial activities.”

    President KCCI said that the increase in dollar value was due to political turmoil, not because of poor economic performance which has not yet been suffered by impact of rising oil prices hence, the State Bank must refrain from creating more problems for the economy.

    READ MORE: Businessmen want early resolution of political uncertainty

  • SBP intervention sought to stop further rupee devaluation

    SBP intervention sought to stop further rupee devaluation

    KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Tuesday urged the central bank to immediate intervene in to stop further devaluation of Pakistan rupee (PKR).

    In a statement KCCI President Muhammad Idrees expressed deep concerns over continuous devaluation of rupee against dollar as the foreign currency hit a new all-time high by crossing Rs186.

    READ MORE: Dollar continues record spree against PKR; hits 185.23

    He urged the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to play its role and devise effective strategy to stop further devaluation rupees which was having a deep negative impact on the economy, particularly the inflation.

    “Although the experts are attributing the rupee devaluation to political uncertainty but the SBP, being the regulator, has to play a role otherwise, it will create a lot of problems for the economy which is sinking as it faces a lot of challenges due to widening current and fiscal deficits,” he said.

    READ MORE: Businessmen want early resolution of political uncertainty

    Muhammad Idrees said that rising dollar against rupee was raising the cost of doing business, making Pakistani goods uncompetitive in the export markets and unaffordable for common man at the local markets as the impact of rising dollar value is usually passed onto end-users.

    He said that it has to be understood that the share of exports in GDP stood at around 10 percent while the rest of 90 percent was local trade and imports hence the devaluation is hurting and has reached to a level where it has become unbearable.

    “Due to lack of effective price control mechanism, an abnormal upsurge has been witnessed in the prices of almost all the commodities of household usage which have to be controlled to ease the already overburdened and miserable life of the inflation stricken common man,” he stressed.

    READ MORE: Direct flights between Pakistan, Tajikistan needed

    “Severe devaluation of rupee has raised the cost of doing business and fostered the inflation, therefore, it is really crucial to review the current strategies being pursued by the regulator,” he reiterated.

    President KCCI feared that the economic crises including energy crises, devaluing rupee against dollar and rising trade deficit etc. would push the economy to a point of ‘no return’ and may even put Pakistan’s survival at stake. “All the efforts made to maintain GDP growth of 5 percent plus will go wasted if the ongoing political uncertainty continues for long period.”

    READ MORE: Withholding tax should be on income: FBR Chairman

    He stressed that the emerging situation has to be efficiently addressed and handled very carefully otherwise, the excessive 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 already poor poorer due to unbearable inflation.

  • Businessmen want early resolution of political uncertainty

    Businessmen want early resolution of political uncertainty

    KARACHI: Business community is perturbed over political uncertainty after dissolution of national assembly following rejection of no-confidence motion against the prime minister.

    Chairman Businessmen Group (BMG) and Former President Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) M. Zubair Motiwala, while expressing deep concerns over the ongoing political crises that led to dissolution of National Assembly, stated that the entire business and industrial community was perturbed over the recent political developments as the economy was already in a fragile state due to devaluation of currency, descending reserves, rising commodity prices, widening current account and fiscal deficits therefore, these political crises must not be stretched for a longer period and resolved at the earliest with a view to save the economy from further woes.

    READ MORE: Direct flights between Pakistan, Tajikistan needed

    “The exports of Karachi city, which stood at 54 percent last year, have now descended to 50 percent as the lawmakers, who mostly remained busy in dealing with the opposition all the time, hardly had any time to look into and resolve the gas issue being suffered by the industries of Karachi that has caused 4 percent reduction in exports this year”, Zubair Motiwala said, adding that similar was the situation in case of other economic indicators which have also been drifting downward due to political uncertainty and the lack of attention.

    READ MORE: Withholding tax should be on income: FBR Chairman

    He said that the business community was gravely perturbed at this uncertain situation as the businesses are at a standstill, customers have disappeared from the markets and traders are facing serious liquidity crunch. 

    He stressed that people at the helm of the affairs must realize that the political issues were terribly hurting the economy so these have to be tackled prudently at the earliest otherwise, we fear that the already ailing economy would face more challenges and all the efforts made to somehow keep the economy afloat would go wasted.

    READ MORE: Karachi Chamber fears deep impact of PKR devaluation

    Chairman BMG said that the Karachi Chamber has always rightly demanded from the governments from time to time to introduce and strictly implement a ‘Charter of Economy’ duly agreed by all political parties of the country but unfortunately, this legitimate demand was never taken into consideration which was the reason for all the economic ills being faced by the country. “Consistency in the government policies and a clear roadmap to move forward which is devised through Charter of Economy, are the key factors leading to progress, prosperity and development which can only be achieved through Charter of Economy,” he added.

    READ MORE: POS retailers to get refunds automatically: Tariq Mustafa

    He said that the country was in a dire need of a Charter of Economy or road-map, developed in consultation with the business and industrial community and endorsed by all political parties. “We hope that the political crises are amicably resolved at the earliest and the Charter of Economy, which is the need of the hour, is also introduced and implemented in the larger interest of the country as any delay is going to prove very harmful for the economy.”

  • Direct flights between Pakistan, Tajikistan needed

    Direct flights between Pakistan, Tajikistan needed

    KARACHI: Pakistan and Tajikistan should start direct flights in order to reduce travel time. The issue was raised by the Ambassador of Tajikistan to Pakistan Ismatullo Nasredin and President Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Muhammad Idrees at a meeting.

    (more…)
  • Withholding tax should be on income: FBR Chairman

    Withholding tax should be on income: FBR Chairman

    Karachi, March 14, 2022 – The Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Dr. Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed, emphasized the need for a shift in the approach to withholding tax (WHT), suggesting that it should be levied on income rather than transactions. He made these remarks during an address at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Monday.

    (more…)
  • Karachi Chamber fears deep impact of PKR devaluation

    Karachi Chamber fears deep impact of PKR devaluation

    KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has expressed deep economic impact of massive devaluation of Pakistan Rupee (PKR) against the dollar.

    (more…)
  • Numbeo’s Pakistan Index stuns Karachi Chamber

    Numbeo’s Pakistan Index stuns Karachi Chamber

    Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) is stunned over the Numbeo’s cost of living index in which it has been claimed that Pakistan was the cheapest country amongst 139 countries of the world.

    KCCI President Muhammad Idrees while referring to Finance Minister’s tweet about latest Numbeo’s cost of living index in which it has been claimed that Pakistan was the cheapest country amongst 139 countries of the world, stated that this ranking cannot be taken into consideration as it was mainly based on low rent and groceries index whereas the other major components like low per capita income, rate of inflation, poverty and unemployment etc. have not been taken into consideration in finalizing the ranking, hence the claim about Pakistan being the cheapest country was unfounded and contrary to ground realities.

    READ MORE: PM appealed restoring gas to Karachi industrial zones

    “The entire population of Pakistan suffers badly due to across-the-board inflation which has mainly been triggered by high cost of utilities and the constant rise petroleum prices affecting prices of all the household commodities, adding more miseries to the lives of the poor masses,” he said.

    He pointed out that the World Bank estimated that the poverty ratio in Pakistan stood at 39.3 percent in 2020-21 using the lower-middle-income poverty rate of $3.2 per day income while 40 percent of households suffered from moderate to severe food insecurity.

    He noted that Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation in the country has consistently been on a steep rise as during seven months of FY22, inflation was recorded at a whopping 10.26 percent as compared to 8.19 percent during the same period of FY21.

    READ MORE: KCCI holds awareness seminar on Pakistan Single Window

    He further mentioned that the government recently raised up to Rs12.03 per liter in the prices of petroleum products, taking petrol to a record level of Rs159.86 per liter effective from February 16 and it was really worrisome that they plan to increase petroleum prices further by Rs6 per liter which was going to create a really troublesome situation not only for the masses and the businesses but also the already ailing economy.

    “Moreover, a significant increase in the prices of power tariffs is also on the card. Power tariff is likely to increase by Rs6.10 per unit on account of fuel cost adjustment (FCA) for the month of January this year. According to NEPRA, the cost of fuel for electricity generation in Jan’22 increased by 101.5 percent to Rs12.22 per unit on a year-on-year basis. The rising prices of utilities will have a ripple effect on all products and will further heat up inflation”, he warned, adding that it would further erode the purchasing power of the masses.

    Muhammad Idrees was of the opinion that the major impact on inflation comes from imports which are susceptible to Pak Rupee devaluation. The Pakistani rupee lost over 10 percent or around Rs16.68 of its total value during 2021 with the currency really taking the brunt during the second half of the year. On 31st December 2021, the currency was traded at Rs176.51 compared to Rs159.97 in the beginning of the year. It even hit a low of Rs181.80 on 16th December 2021. Therefore, the exchange rate should be kept stable to minimize the impact of rising inflation, he stressed.

    READ MORE: KCCI urges SBP to restore PKR at Rs150 to dollar

    President KCCI further stated that during first seven months of FY22, exports were recorded at $17.67 billion, while imports were recorded at $46.47 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $28.8 billion. “Pakistan’s major dependence on imported goods and its inability to diversify export commodities and markets remain major challenges for the country’s economy eating away valuable reserves,” he added.

    President KCCI underscored that instead of further overburdening the masses, the government has to come up with an effective strategy to minimize the impact of inflation by subsidizing the rising POL prices, promote import substitution to shrink trade deficit, bring down the cost of doing business by reducing prices of utilities, taxes and duties so that the poor masses could survive and the businesses could also stay afloat.

    READ MORE: KCCI flays restoration of IR officers bank freezing powers

    He hoped that the present government must take the ground realities into consideration and take steps to minimize the hardships being suffered by the already overburdened masses and the businesses who simply cannot afford any further shocks in terms of rising cost of doing business.

  • POS retailers to get refunds automatically: Tariq Mustafa

    POS retailers to get refunds automatically: Tariq Mustafa

    KARACHI: Tariq Mustafa Khan, Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue, Regional Tax Office (RTO) Karachi has said that retailers who installed Point of Sales (POS) will gain refunds automatically.

    “The retailers will also not subject to audit,” he said while speaking with office bearers of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Thursday.

    “POS, which was currently for business falling under Tier-I, will gradually be installed all over the country with a view to save the economy from tax evasion”, he added.

    READ MORE: All shopkeepers to install POS machines: CTO Chief

    President KCCI Muhammad Idrees, Senior Vice President Abdul Rehman Naqi, Vice President Qazi Zahid Hussain, Chairman of Special Committee for Small Traders Majeed Memon, Chairman GST/ SRB Subcommittee Shoaib Ahmed Faridi, Chairman Federal Taxation Subcommittee Hilal Ahmed Sheikh, KCCI Managing Committee Members and others were also present at the meeting.

    Chief Commissioner RTO explained that any shopkeeper who comes under the purview of seven conditions defined for Tier-I will have to fulfil the POS condition.

    “Shopkeepers must come out of fear as they will be fully protected in case of any illegal action. Our doors are always open and you can visit my office anytime for assistance without seeking appointment,” he assured and advised shopkeepers to submit written complaints in case they were being victimized, ill-treated or blackmailed by any officer of his department. Action will be taken by initiating investigation within 24 hours with a view to create a taxpayers’ friendly environment.

    READ MORE: FBR posts officials at retail outlets for sales monitoring

    “Whoever has received notices pertaining to POS, his business must be falling in any of the seven categories defined in Tier-I. We don’t want to close down your business. This system is purely for the benefit of businesspeople hence, maximum number of people must become part it,” he said.

    Appreciating President KCCI’s suggestion, he agreed that his department’s team will hold awareness sessions not only at KCCI but also at respective markets. “It is not only the responsibility of Muhammad Idrees to support and facilitate shopkeepers but ours as well,” he added.

    Tariq Mustafa Khan, while congratulating KCCI Office Bearers on assuming charge of Chamber’s affairs appreciated all the efforts being made to highlight the problems pertaining to POS and other taxation issues.

    READ MORE: Point of sale machines allowed tax credit

    Speaking on the occasion, President KCCI Muhammad Idrees stated that to properly and effectively implement POS system on Tier-I Retailers without troubling the shopkeepers, the field formation teams need to play a more proactive role while awareness has to be raised amongst shopkeepers who currently stand unguided and were reluctant to seek assistance mainly due to existing negative perception about tax authorities. “The past practices of field formation officers are discouraging shopkeepers to integrate with FBR via POS which requires attention”, he added.

    He also pointed out that Gul Plaza was not an airconditioned mall but due to inevitable requirement at the basement, some shopkeepers have installed air conditioners and similar was the case at some other malls as well hence, all such shops should not be held responsible for failing to comply with POS condition as these cannot be treated under Tier-I.

    Muhammad Idrees further argued that all laws being devised by FBR including POS system remain confined to business community of Karachi only at initial phase whereas it appears that the rest of the country stands exempted.

    READ MORE: CTO Karachi seals three retail shops on POS failure

    He advised Chief Commissioner to hold awareness sessions at KCCI for shopkeepers of markets and malls and these sessions must also be organized at relevant markets as well so that misunderstandings and grievances could be dealt as people were largely unaware to such an extent that they were even not aware that shopkeepers can also get rebate under POS.

    He said that taxpayers were being harassed by issuing notices for monitoring and audit of multiple tax years and were compelled to comply to these notices within a short period of merely 4 to 5 days. In this regard, he proposed that field formations should be restricted from initiating proceedings of multiple years while adequate time period has to be prescribed under the law which should be provided to taxpayers for responding to a particular notice.

    He sought Chief Commissioner’s support in improving the business climate, rationalizing taxation and reducing cost of doing business so that the country could be brought to the level of realizing its true economic potential.

  • Industry protests against gas shortage at SSGC

    Industry protests against gas shortage at SSGC

    KARACHI: Hundreds of demonstrators on Wednesday gathered outside the head office of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) to demand immediate restoration of gas supply to industry.

    The demonstrators included the leadership of Businessmen Group and Karachi Chamber along with Presidents/ Representatives of All Industrial Town Associations and sector-specific trade associations.

    They warned that this campaign to demand immediate restoration of gas supply at all the industrial zones would continue and may intensify further with each passing day until gas supply to all the industrial units is fully restored and normalized.

    READ MORE: PM appealed restoring gas to Karachi industrial zones

    Accompanied by prominent business figures, Chairman BMG Zubair Motiwala, Vice Chairman BMG Jawed Bilwani and President KCCI Muhammad Idrees expressed deep concerns over government’s inattentive attitude towards resolving the most pressing issue being suffered by the business and industrial community of Karachi where the industrialists were suffering huge losses due to no gas or low pressure.

    The industrialists of Karachi were totally stunned and disappointed to see government’s sheer negligence in response to press releases, appeals and also a recent press conference over looming gas/ RLNG crises being suffered since last more than 100 days.

    READ MORE: KCCI holds awareness seminar on Pakistan Single Window

    They said that losses of up to Rs45 billion were being suffered each day due to unavailability of gas to Karachi, which despite facing so many challenges at almost all the fronts, continues to contribute more than 68 percent revenue to the national exchequer, 54 percent to national exports while 52 percent of textile exports also take place from Karachi.

    While referring to erroneous allocation of 211 mmcfd gas from Sindh’s resources to SNGPL, BMG and KCCI Leadership demanded that in order to revive the industrial activities in Karachi, Sindh’s gas has to be returned to the province as it was highly unfair to keep the industries of Karachi deprived of Sindh’s own gas resources.

    They said that the rising demand for gas in Baluchistan during winter season was being fulfilled by SSGCL alone which receives 125mmcfd gas from Sui whereas SNGPL, which takes away 180mmcfd from Sui, stands completely spared from sharing the burden of rising gas demand in Baluchistan which was beyond anyone’s understanding.

    READ MORE: KCCI urges SBP to restore PKR at Rs150 to dollar

    They stressed that the rising demand for gas in Baluchistan has to be meted out by SSGCL and SNGPL as per ratio of gas being received by them which means that the extra demand of 160mmcfd in Baluchistan during winter should be rationally divided with 41 percent (65mmcfd) burden on SSGCL and the remaining 59 percent (95mmcfd) must be borne by SNGPL.

    They were of the opinion that gas has to be supplied without any differentiation to all the industries including General, SMEs and export-oriented industries as they all go hand-in-hand. The government has to realize that the general industries were an integral part of the value chain for exports which drive the economy.

    READ MORE: KCCI flays restoration of IR officers bank freezing powers

    In the national interest, BMG and KCCI Leadership appealed Prime Minister Imran Khan to take immediate cognizance of the situation and urgently respond to the Constitutional Right of the business community of Karachi to save the investment of industrialists and protect the soft and positive image of Pakistan globally, otherwise, if such alarming situation prevails, the country may face unrest and uncertainty due to closure of industries in Karachi, massive layoffs and drastic decline in the national exchequer further leading to chaos.