Rawalpindi Chambers of Small Traders and Small Industries (RCSTSI) president Tariq Jadoon has declared it imperative to start a ring road project near the industrial zone to control the growing problems of traffic and pollution in the garrison city.
The RCSTSI president claimed that by imposing a fixed tax on the cottage industry and small traders and exempting them from the sales tax, their primary role in the economy can be achieved.
In an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune, Jadoon said that the number of memberships in his chamber has reached 1,600 and all the members have a national tax number. “We are active for the success of the SMI sector. The Chamber is providing full support to its members for cottage industry and small trade,” he said.
“At present, not only business activities are being affected in big and small markets due to heavy transport within Rawalpindi city, but traffic, pollution and sanitation problems are also intensifying,” he added.
The RCSTSI president said it has become inevitable to move the furniture and shoe factories, goods transport and big markets out of the city for which the government has to start work on the ring road project connected to the industrial zone as soon as possible so that the goods produced from the industrial zone can be brought back to the city in small vehicles.
“At this time it is necessary to control the dollar, provide favourable conditions for the stock exchange to go up and control inflation,” he said, adding that the business community has high hopes from Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in this regard.
Jadoon said that the fixed tax has been removed from the electricity bills and now the small businessmen must be freed from the sales tax by implementing the fixed tax for which negotiations are being held with Member Customs and Chairman FBR.
The RCSTSI president said that China's consent to China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a breakthrough in which Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has played an important role. “CPEC is a game-changer for Pakistan which will change its destiny,” he said, lamenting that the ongoing long march of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and protest politics were very harmful to the economy. “The economy is already faltering. The situation from the top is not conducive to investment.”
Jadoon claimed that the way restaurants were being shifted from Sui Gas to RLNG would affect business activities. “The increase in cost will have negative effects on the business which will also affect the business activities,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 8th, 2022.
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