HCCI gets notice over post-licensing requirements

The DGTO gave the HCCI 10 days to acquire the SECP's incorporation certificate

HYDRABAD:

The Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) has received a notice from the Directorate General of Trade Organizations (DGTO) in Islamabad. The notice emphasises that the chamber has consistently failed to meet post-licensing requirements. On June 20, the DGTO's Deputy Director, Pir Shah Gul Ahmad, issued the notice, cautioning that the license could be cancelled under rule number 6 of the Trade Organizations Rules, 2013.

In the letter addressed to the Secretary General of HCCI, it is stated that the chamber's previous responses to notices were unsatisfactory. The letter notes that many of the chamber's submissions contradict the law.

Ahmad also mentioned that the current HCCI, led by President Adeel Siddiqui, is still using the address of the last chamber, which had its license cancelled in January 2020 under Seth Goharullah's leadership. Despite clear instructions from the DGTO's office in a letter dated November 10, 2022, the HCCI is still using the cancelled chamber's address without obtaining approval from the regulator.

The letter highlights another failure of the chamber: it has been unable to obtain the corporate compliance certificate from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and submit it to the directorate. The DGTO has given the HCCI 10 days to acquire the SECP's incorporation certificate, warning of action if they fail to comply.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2023.