Unregistered traders: Businessmen welcome tax suspension

Press govt not to file appeal against court’s decision

FAISALABAD: The Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) has welcomed suspension of a major condition of SRO 1125(I) 2011, which allowed taxmen to impose “further tax” on goods supplied to people who were not registered with the sales tax department.

“It was surprising that against good intention of the government, the FBR (Federal Board of Revenue) inserted a new condition under SRO 1125 to levy further tax. This proved detrimental as the cost of doing business could not be controlled nor volume of exports could be increased,” said Sheikh Farooq Yusuf, Acting President FCCI, in a statement.



He recalled that after a continuous decline in exports, five major exporting industries were declared zero-rated in order to lessen the tax burden on shipments overseas.

“No doubt the zero-rating of exports is a positive decision as we cannot export with taxes (but still) the heavy burden of taxes has created liquidity problems for the exporters,” he said.

According to businessmen, huge tax refund claims have been stuck with the FBR for a long time and they have to borrow fresh loans from banks and other financial institutions at high mark-up to meet day-to-day financial needs.



The business community, particularly exporters, has been demanding that the government help cut down the production cost as Pakistan’s exports are losing their competitive edge in the international market. He believed that the move would certainly bring down production cost and help create a niche for Pakistan’s export goods in international markets.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18^th, 2017.

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