Frequent SRO changes increasing cost of doing business: Industry urges consultation
KARACHI (News Desk): The business community has called for a comprehensive review of unnecessary Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs) and demanded consultation with industrial associations before introducing any new tax policy, duty or SRO, saying frequent changes were increasing the cost of doing business.
The demand was raised during a meeting between the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial and industrialists at the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) on Wednesday.
KATI Deputy Patron-in-Chief Zubair Chhaya said the business community was facing difficulties due to frequent changes in various SROs, notifications and tax laws. In some cases, SROs increased the cost of doing business and created additional legal complexities.
He proposed a review of unnecessary SROs that adversely affected businesses and stressed that relevant industrial associations and stakeholders must be consulted before introducing any new tax policy.
FBR Chairman Langrial, while responding to the concerns, said the FBR would consult relevant stakeholders to address shortcomings in the raw material import system. He also announced the establishment of an FBR office at KATI to address tax-related issues faced by industrialists in the Korangi Industrial Area.
He said the FBR’s objective was to improve the tax system and facilitate the business community, and urged industrialists to cooperate in identifying and eliminating tax evasion to make the system more transparent and effective.
KATI President Sheikh Umer Rehan highlighted the need for special measures to resolve tax issues relating to raw material imports to promote industrial and commercial activities. He also stressed maximum automation of tax-related procedures to minimise unnecessary interaction between tax officials and business representatives and reduce discretionary decision-making.
Rehan further said that effective implementation of FBR’s progressive policies, faceless assessment system and digitalisation could significantly expand the tax net and increase revenue collection.
KITE Limited Chairman Zahid Saeed, former chairmen Rashid Siddiqui, Mian Zahid Hussain and Zubair Tufail emphasized the need to broaden the tax net by bringing untaxed sectors into the formal tax system rather than imposing additional burdens on existing taxpayers.
The FBR Chairman also announced that an FBR help desk would be extended from Karachi to Sukkur and that meetings would be held to resolve border trade-related issues faced by the leather industry. He also discussed implementing a model similar to DRAP for the pharmaceutical industry to make the Track and Trace System more effective.
Earlier, Sheikh Umer Rehan thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for directing the FBR Chairman to visit Karachi every month to address difficulties faced by industrialists, calling the monthly visits encouraging.
The event was attended by KATI Senior Vice President Farukh Qandhari, Vice President Nasir Sheikh, former chairmen Muhammad Ikram Rajput, Junaid Naqi, Johar Qandhari, Ehteshamuddin, Syed Farukh Mazhar, FBR Member Inland Revenue Operations Zubair Bilal, Member Customs Operations Syed Shakeel Shah, Chief Collector Appraisement (South) Wajid Ali, and a large number of industrialists.